


A Love Reset

by KaramelHaven



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dar-Blaine is Music Meister, Daxam, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Hate to Love, KaraMel, Krypton, Non-Canon Kara, Non-Canon Mon-El, predestined
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-11-05 09:43:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 94,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11010876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaramelHaven/pseuds/KaramelHaven
Summary: When Music Meister feels the heartbreak of Kara and Mon-El, parted on Earth due to the lead in the atmosphere, he takes it upon himself to fix it, by fixing their problems before they even begin. When our heroes are given a chance to live out their lives and fall in love on their home planets, what will happen when they wake up to find it was just a dream but that both of them are real? How will it affect the show if Kara and Mon-El had already established, built, and committed to a deeply loving relationship before he wakes on Earth?A Karamel Story.





	1. Music Meister to the Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just giving a heads up to anyone reading my other stories, my story Betrayal Never Comes from Enemies will be updated later today. I just really wanted to get this one up first because it was killing me to wait till Wednesday. 
> 
> I plan to update this story much slower than my two priorities (Betrayal and History Rewritten) by posting at least every Wednesday (and attempting to post on Saturdays as well when I can manage that) until one of those two stories is finished and then posting more frequently. So for now, I can say we will be getting a second chapter this Saturday too, not sure about next Saturday, but at the very least it will be every Wednesday ;-)
> 
> Don't own Supergirl or the characters :-)

The Music Meister whistled cheerfully as he phased through a wall of a castle, an honest to god castle, clapping his hands, utterly pleased with himself for the latest successful broken heart mended. God had it been a long haul mission this time. And the dimension he was in now? He’d seen some strange things in his time, but fairytales come to life was another one. Though it HAD proved a theory he and his kind had, that the longer someone was stuck in a dream world the more…well, dream-like…it became. As in, the longer the person fought against the lesson, the more ridiculous the dream became and less realistic over time. Evil Queens and stable boys and fairies and pixie dust, wicked witches and evil fairies and time travel and alternate universes inside universes, all to teach a lesson of forgiveness and fighting past fear, to embracing the hope of new love and completion with a soulmate.

He loved the missions where soulmates were involved, it just made him feel so giddy to help them find their path to each other. It really made his job magical.

He’d just turned a corner when he crumbled against the wall, just barely holding in the agonized scream that wanted to escape him. His hand came up to clutch at his chest, feeling like his heart was breaking inside it, ripping itself to shreds.

“What?” he wheezed out, using the wall as leverage to stand up. He snapped his fingers and a hazy, swirling vortex appeared in the air before his face, clearing up enough in the middle for him to see the cause of his pain.

It was the aliens (and he used that term lightly given the people he’d helped across the dimensions). It was Supergirl and Mon-El, Kara and Mike, standing in a field with a…was that a spaceship!? A spaceship was stationed just feet away. Mon-El looked like he was barely hanging on as he and Kara spoke and kissed and cried…

And then Mon-El got in the ship and flew away.

He got in the ship and flew away!?

WHAT!?

That was NOT the story he left them with! That was not the path they were meant to go down. HOW had that happened?!

Honestly, he leaves them to their own devices for a few days and THIS happens?

“Yes, yes, I know,” he muttered to himself as he heard a whispering in his ears, reports coming in from his people as they too felt the utter devastation the heartbroken couple was feeling. “I know!”

He had to do something. He had to fix this. This was NOT the way their story was meant to play out. 

He closed his eyes, willing himself to push past the ache in his chest till he could focus on them. He used his connection as the guardian of their story to trace it back, to see what had happened between the last time he’d seen them and now that could have caused this…

His eyes snapped open, pulsing dangerously as he understood. But still, it shouldn’t have happened like that! What had he done wrong? This outcome should have been impossible...

He smacked himself on the forehead as the whispers in his ear grew louder. “I get it! I get it! I messed up.”

He’d gotten cocky. He’d tried to help two of his charges at the same time, to kill two birds with one stone, when he should have focused on them separately, as they each deserved. Barry and Iris in one go, Kara and Mon-El in another. Each person was meant to have their OWN lesson, not a joined one. It wouldn’t hit home as much or stick as firmly when he had to focus on two people instead of one.

“Damn it!” he hissed, rubbing his head as his mind raced trying to find a way to fix this.

“Shut up, shut up!” he muttered, waving his hand to try and get the voices of his people to stop reprimanding him…when he snapped his fingers, an idea striking him.

He would take a page out of the book he’d just finished getting back on track, but…with a little more oomph to it. 

He had gotten to Kara and Mon-El too late, he realized that now. He’d felt their hearts breaking earlier than that moment, but before he could get there, having been dealing with other charges at the time, they’d righted themselves. But it didn’t mean the heartbreak hadn’t happened, that the foundation of their story hadn’t been cracked, that the path hadn’t been shaken.

He needed to go back, farther than that. He needed to fix it all before the problems even began!

It was genius!

He chuckled to himself, mentally patting himself on the back for it and snapped his fingers again. The image before him changed, the story of the girl from Krypton and the boy from Daxam playing in reverse. He had to be careful and pick just the right moment where they were together but without complications, just one moment of peace…but he was realizing now it was going to be a tough spot finding the right moment. 

Even going back, he kept seeing problem after problem, numerous ones that shouldn’t have existed. All the way back to the start. 

“Great,” he muttered, slumping against the wall. Even their very first meetings had been a disaster. Kara and her prejudice, Mon-El and his shocked attack on the DEO…

He sometimes hated being the guardian of the stories, especially when the stories started off so rocky…

His head snapped up, another idea striking him. When the stories started rocky. STARTED rocky. What if...could he...would it work if... He smiled, looking at the image before him and nodded. He had never tried this before, putting a story on track before it even really started, usually he and his kind were meant to guide the story once it began or began to veer off course. But...that could work, that could very much work. Now he just had to set his plan in action.

He waved his hand and the swirl before him expanded into a portal, allowing him to step through. He almost laughed as he thought of the portal he’d “stolen” from Supergirl to get to the Flash. Cuffs and cells couldn’t hold him, did they REALLY think he needed some sort of fancy tech to travel between dimensions? Please!

He stepped out, finding himself standing on a roof of CatCo, back in National City, the headlines advertising the impending launch of The Venture. He snapped his fingers, bringing up an image of Mon-El, playing his story right to that date, making sure he'd gotten it correctly. He watched the man, unconscious in his ship, plummet to Earth, found by Supergirl, and taken to the DEO where he now rested in an examination room, still asleep. Perfect. HE would be the easy one to deal with.

Supergirl would be the trickier one, not only to get alone but to find the right place to get her from. It had to match up to when he got Mon-El so he only had a limited few days to work with. 

With a twisting motion the image shifted to Kara, watching her story play out. He watched intently as Kara, surrounded by her family and friends, was called away by James Olsen. He watched as she opened a package from him, a photo of herself squinting into the distance and smiling.

“I’m squinting!” Kara was saying.

“No, you’re smiling, with your eyes,” James countered. “Like you are now.”

He watched as Kara considered that, considered the words, and spoke the ones he knew were coming. “I am happy.”

He smirked, pleased he'd gotten his dates right. Because, watching her, it was a lie. It was a line said to convince one’s self. To repeat over and over till you believed it. She’d hesitated too long, she hadn’t looked James in the eye when she said it, she hadn’t been smiling the dopey grin of a person truly happy. He nodded his head and the images sped up, watching her find Mon-El, watching her checking on him, watching her very enlightening conversation with Alex, until it reached the present moment...Kara, standing in her apartment with a pile of clothing on her bed, the girl rushing back and forth to her mirror, examining which worked best.

She was preparing for a date, he realized, and that was his cue. He needed to get to Supergirl now, while she was alone and distracted and already considering Alex's words about her real feelings behind her date with James, before he could work on Mon-El. He waved his hand, expanding the swirl to portal size once more, and stepped through, into Kara’s apartment

Kara gasped as she saw a man standing behind her through the mirror's reflection and spun around, her pink dress twirling with her. "Who are you!?"

Music Meister smirked as Kara sped for him and grabbed him, pressing him into the wall before he could react. 

“What do you want?” Kara demanded when he refused to speak.

“To help you,” he answered simply. “I’m here to help you be truly happy.”

“What…” Kara began to say, before she trailed off, staring into his eyes as they began to pulse, making her own do the same.

He looked down as Kara slumped to the ground. “Pleasure doing business with you,” he remarked.

He glanced up when he heard a knock on the door, followed by another and a call from James Olsen when Kara failed to answer. He began to step backwards, calling a portal to step through just as the door to Kara's apartment was kicked open. He briefly caught James, solely focused on Kara, rushing to her unconscious form, before the portal closed completely, leaving him now in the DEO examination room.

For people so concerned with apprehending aliens and being on the look out for invasions...their security was truly lacking if he could end up in the room with Mon-El, with no one else around or even sparing a glance into said room and no alarms going off. 

He shook himself from those thoughts, he had a mission to see to and he needed to get Mon-El situated quickly before the DEO was alerted to Kara's state and sent into a panic. He moved over to the alien's side, observing him a moment, before waving his hand, pleased Mon-El was already asleep. It made his job much easier to tie himself to the dream world when someone was already dreaming. He smirked as a pulse overtook Mon-El and faded quickly.

He looked up, hearing a commotion from outside the room and knew James had just called in with Kara's status.

"Show time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since we don't really know the full extent of Music Meister's power or purpose in the show, I took some liberties. For someone that could just phase out of a wall and knew about the existence of other universes, it seemed silly that he couldn't travel between them already, so I made it more of something he said to get Kara to Barry's world and not that he actually NEEDED the interdimensional device. I also tried to give him more of a "what is his role" thing with being a sort of "guardian of stories," something like a cupid where they help guide people to their destined loves and so on. 
> 
> Also, to clarify, he has traveled back in time to just before the Venture launches to change the course of events. This is going to be similar to my "History Rewritten" story, in that it will create a world where Kara and Mon-El have met before the events of the show (as adults), but will be vastly different in how it plays out and the effects it causes. Imagine Season 2 with Kara and Mon-El already deeply in love ;-) I just really need oodles of fluff for them, I need it like you wouldn't believe. And I think Music Meister needed it too lol :-)
> 
> And a little shout out to any fans of Once Upon a Time, did you catch the reference? ;-)


	2. First Impressions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Name Days are what I'm calling the Daxamite/Kryptonian version of a birthday :-) This chapter might be a bit confusing with how/where/when it takes place, but the ending note explains more of it ;-) I'm going to try and get Betrayal updated later today, but at he worst case, it'll be up bright and early tomorrow ;-)

Kara’s eyes fluttered open as she stretched out, enjoying the warmth of Rao’s light as it shown through the windows of her bedroom. A smile came to her face as she sat up and took in her room. It hadn’t changed much from her childhood, though she liked to think it had gotten more mature and tasteful as her years went by. Her smile grew wider when she remembered what had her in such bright spirits, it was her Name Day! By her culture, she would be viewed as a full adult by Kryptonian law and she could not be more excited. Twenty and five years had seemed so far off when she was a child, but now that she had reached it, she felt like her childhood had just flown past. 

“Kara!”

She laughed as her door burst open and her baby cousin, who wasn’t quite a baby any longer, dashed in, throwing himself onto her bed and hugging her tight. “Kal! Good morning!”

“Good morning! Happy Name Day!” he cheered, practically bouncing on the bed in his own excitement for her.

“Thank you.” She hugged him once more. “Are Aunt Lara and Uncle Jor with you?”

“Yeah,” but he pouted as he said it.

“Hey now,” she tapped his nose. “No sad faces on my Name Day.”

Kal gave her a bright smile for it.

“Kal!” a voice called from the doorway moments before her mother, Alura, appeared. “Kal you were supposed to let her sleep.”

“She was awake!” Kal insisted.

“I was,” Kara agreed, wrapping her arms around Kal from behind, resting her chin on his head, much to his annoyance. “He was merely wishing me a happy Name Day.”

Alura smiled at that, stepping closer to press a kiss to the top of her daughter’s hair. “Yes, happy Name Day, Daughter.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

“Now,” Alura added as she pulled back. “As happy as I am that you are awake, you know your father will insist we depart sooner now.”

Kara rolled her eyes playfully at that. “Where are we visiting this year?”

It was a tradition in their family, each year on a Name Day, they would take a short trip somewhere. Whether it was the Well of Stars, or Sedenach, some other beautiful planet or star system. It was always a surprise though, picked by the other two.

Alura’s smile grew tight, her eyes shining with what Kara almost thought was regret. But that made no sense, why would her mother regret the planet they picked?

“Daxam.”

Kara blinked. 

Well, that explained the regret.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Kara sighed, her arms crossed as she sat beside her parents in their transport to Krypton’s sister planet. “I still don’t understand why you chose to visit the planet of the hoodlums for my Name Day.”

Zor-El sighed. “They DO have a vested interest in the arts.”

“And their architecture and gardens are the jewel of the system…” her mother added.

Kara eyed them suspiciously. “And the REAL reason?” They were silent. “Mother, father, I am an adult now. You CAN tell me matters such as what would possess you to visit _Daxam_.”

Her parents exchanged a look before her mother sighed and turned around. “We have business to see to with the King and Queen,” she explained. “We tried to have them select any day but this one, they insisted though. It is far too sensitive a situation to risk their ire and we HAD to accept.”

“We didn’t know how long we would be held there and we didn’t want to disappoint you by foregoing our trips,” her father added.

Kara gave them a look. “I’m sure Daxam would be enough of a disappointment that remaining on Krypton would have been a joy in comparison.”

“As much as we may agree with you,” Alura began. “We are nearly there and we must at least be civil while on their planet.”

Kara let out a long breath but nodded, understanding her parents’ request that she refrain from telling any of the Daxamites what she truly thought of them and their horrid planet.

“Thank you, daughter.”

Kara could only give her mother a weak smile as the transport began to descend on the planet. She turned and looked out the windows and…really hated the fact that her mother was at least partly right. The architecture was unusual but had a certain elegance to it. It was too extravagant and ostentatious for her tastes, but there was some allure there. Seeing it up close, once the doors to the transport opened, was nearly overwhelming. It was as though the Daxamites took pains to make sure their guests saw their planet as being lavish and full of wealth if so much effort went towards creating such monumental structures.

There were three people standing on the steps leading up to a pyramid-like building. A man dressed in grey, his hair wavy and brown, a strong jawline and a ring around his head like a crown. There was a woman beside him, dark hair in light curls, a metal tiara upon her head, wearing a long grey-green gown that clung to her body and revealed her assets to any that looked. And a younger man, roughly her age if she had to guess, with short black hair, storm-grey eyes, wearing black trousers and a red shirt. He stood rigid beside the two elders, his hands behind his back, a cocky grin on his face as he eyed the visitors.

Kara hated him immediately.

“King Lar Gand,” Kara looked over as her father greeted the three people standing before by dipping into a deep bow, her mother following the lead with a curtsey that she too replicated. “Queen Rhea. Prince Mon-El.”

“Greetings,” the King made a gesture for them to rise though he didn’t bother with addressing them by name either.

Kara wondered if he even KNEW their names.

“Welcome to Daxam,” the Queen took up. 

“Thank you for the invitation,” Alura offered them a tight smile.

“As you know, our time is precious and limited,” the King began. “If you would please follow us to the council chamber, we can begin our discussions.”

Zor-El nodded, but took a step up. “Your Highness. I would like to introduce my daughter, Kara,” he gestured at her, startling Kara profoundly. “It is her Name Day and I would wish nothing more than for her to be relieved from having to attend such serious talk on such a joyous day.”

The King considered her and glanced at his son before nodding once more. “Mon-El.”

“Yes?” Mon-El glanced at his father, sounding bored and almost challenging in his tone.

Kara liked him even less for the respect he failed to show his father.

“Keep the Kryptonian Girl company,” Queen Rhea gave him a firm look, speaking instead. “The last thing we need is for her to cause more insult to our people than her mere presence does.”

Kara opened her mouth to respond, clearly offended, when her mother grabbed her arm and squeezed it firmly in warning. Kara snapped her mouth shut but proceeded to glare at the Queen for her harsh words.

Mon-El appeared to find her reaction amusing.

She was wrong, she didn’t just hate him. She loathed him.

“Of course, mother,” Mon-El responded, gesturing for his parents to continue on with her family.

Kara crossed her arms, letting out a silent huff under her breath. She would much rather be stuck in a council chamber actually learning diplomacy than stuck with the prince, not if all the rumors she’d heard were true.

“Well then,” Mon-El grinned at her as the doors shut behind his parents. “Shall we?” He held out an arm for her to take.

But Kara ignored it pointedly. “Lead the way,” she said through clenched teeth, making a shooing motion as she had no idea where to go or what to do on this strange planet.

Mon-El didn’t seem bothered as he merely turned on his heel and started to walk off. “The gardens should be a safe place to head to.”

Kara rolled her eyes behind him, as though there would be any safe area for a Kryptonian on the planet.

“So it’s your Nam…” Mon-El began when a shout went up behind them.

“Mon!” a young man was running after them, hair dark and somewhat curly, eyes a mix of brown and green. He was wearing all black as he hurried to Mon-El’s side. “I just heard you’ve been excused from the meeting. You going to need the room?”

Mon-El beamed at that, as though he’d just been reminded of something. “I think I will, yeah. Get everything set up for me?”

“Of course,” the man responded, starting to walk backwards without turning away. “Save me half?”

“Of course,” Mon-El mimicked. “Let me know if you get into any trouble!”

“Pfft!” the man waved him off. “I have a way with the kitchen wenches.”

And with that the man spun around and ambled off, humming what sounded like a merry tune under his breath.

Kara eyed him oddly, he seemed a little exuberant and excitable. “Who was that?”

Mon-El glanced at her, seeming to be gauging something on her before he answered. “Dar-Blaine.”

Kara shot him a look for it. His tone implied that was explanation enough. But she shook her head. She really didn’t care enough about some random Daxamite to keep asking about him. Instead she started walking again, hoping Mon-El would overtake her and continue to lead the way to the gardens, which he did moments later.

She refused, absolutely refused to admit they were beautiful. Daxam was, in a manner of speaking, a desert-like planet, sand everywhere with patches of grass. But the sand wasn’t overly dry or irritating, but moist and filled with rich nutrients, somewhat like soil but less staining. It made for absolutely perfect conditions to grow all manner of food and plant life. The gardens were an example of that. Never before had she seen such colors and variety of flowers. It was breathtaking how they merged and fit with the trees.

Mon-El seemed to be look at her expectantly, but she merely schooled her awed expression quickly into a disinterested pursing of her lips and said nothing.

His smile faltered for only a moment before he turned and made his way towards a large circular fountain in the middle of the lush greenery. He sat down on the edge of it and jerked as though he were about to pat the space beside him but thought better of it.

After a moment Kara sat down with quite a few feet between them, her hands firmly clasped on her lap, her back rigid, chin just a little more tilted than need be.

“The plants come from all over,” Mon-El spoke after nearly ten minutes of silence. 

“Do they.”

It wasn’t even a question. It sounded more like she was reciting the most boring poetry she could think of.

Mon-El nodded to himself at her reply, not bothering to explain where some of the more unique flowers came from, she probably wouldn’t be interested anyway. “If the garden isn’t to your liking, there are other places I could show you.”

Kara snorted at that before she internally winced, not having meant for that to come out. “This is fine.”

“There’s the library,” Mon-El offered. “We have an observatory, the courtyard or the dragon pen…”

“Garata is a savage sport.”

“Well when among savages,” Mon-El countered, his voice growing just the barest bit challenging now, clearly growing less than pleased with her tone and responses. “Look, we could always go to the high towers…”

“What, so you can push me off them?”

“Well, I was going to say so you could continue to look down on Daxam like all Kryptonians,” Mon-El shot right back, continuing to speak before her outraged response could escape her. “But now I think I’ll just leave you to your thoughts.” 

“And where do you think you’re going?!” Kara demanded as she stood up, following his own motion. 

“Away from you.”

“The king tasked you with accompanying me.”

“No.” Mon-El spun around to face her. “My mother tasked me with ensuring you don’t insult our people any more than you already have. As you’ve done nothing but be insulting, I am going to leave now and get something to eat.”

“And what if I was hungry?” Kara demanded, though her face flushed at how…ridiculous her counterpoint was. It made absolutely no sense at all to her to bring that up, it wasn’t like she would ever touch anything a Daxamite dined to call food…

“Well I just assumed anything I provide would be too barbaric for the refined palate of a Kryptonian.”

Kara’s jaw clenched, forcing herself to hold back her next biting remark. Because her thoughts had admittedly been heading in that direction. “You assume much about me.”

“And you don’t?” Mon-El scoffed. “You’re nothing but a snooty Kryptonian.”

“How dare you…”

“I have tried my level best to be cordial to you and you’ve rebuffed me at every attempt.”

“It’s not like you’ve made THAT much of an effort!” Kara shouted back, ignoring her mother’s voice in her head telling her they were meant to be polite with the Daxamites. “You’re just another entitled Daxamite!”

“HOW have I given THAT impression?” Mon-El shook his head.

“When have I?” She thrust her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

Mon-El let out a huff. “Look. I’m hungry and tired and I’ve got a headache from it. I just want to go inside and eat. You are welcome to join me or you can stay here, but I’m leaving.”

Kara bit her lip, wanting to cry victory as he’d not answered her question and was retreating, which HAD to mean she’d won the argument, right? But as he turned on his heel and stalked off…she began to realize she didn’t know where she was in the palace or how to get out of the gardens and if he left her now and she was caught wandering the palace…it would greatly disappoint her parents.

She let out a frustrated breath and stormed after him, keeping at least a foot behind him the entire way through the winding halls.

The longer they walked, the more flights of stairs they went down, the more she began to frown in earnest and in confusion, her ire bleeding away as she tried to make sense of direction. The murals plastered on every wall were becoming less distinct, the state of the walls looking more bare and old as they went. Soon they were bare of anything and the hall was getting narrower.

It wasn’t till Mon-El pushed an old door open that she realized…they had arrived at the kitchens. The literal, actual kitchens of the palace. Not a dining area, not a banquet hall, not some room where servants were set to deliver food at any instance…but the kitchens where it was all prepared.

“What…” she began to ask, looking around as she entered more slowly.

Mon-El simply went straight for the storage units and began to sift through them, pulling out random items as he went. 

“Are we in the kitchens?” Kara looked over at him, watching him grabbing bowls and utensils now.

“I wanted food, where else would we be?” Mon-El muttered, though his focus seemed to be on the things he’d dropped on a counter running along the wall. “If you’re going to stay here, at least move out of the way.”

Kara pursed her lips at the comment, but moved to sit on a stool, hopefully out of the way enough for him, but where she could still see what he was doing. At first she’d been confused, but it quickly cleared up when she watched him actually begin to peel one of the items he’d grabbed, dicing a fruit once he’s finished. And she realized…he was cooking. The Prince of Daxam was actually making his own food with his own two hands.

She was so startled by that realization, she kept quiet the entire time he worked, until, before she knew it, a plate of his concoction was placed in front of her and Mon-El was sliding onto the stool across from her at a small table.

Mon-El took a large bite of his food, chewing it noisily before he nodded at her plate. “It’s not poisonous.”

“I can see that,” she spoke, given how he’d eaten it as well. She felt like she’d meant to snap that response, but it came out more quiet as she just…stared at the food. It was like some kind of thick soup, cold, and made with bits of fruit lumped into it.

It looked…not wholly unappetizing. 

Mon-El rolled his eyes at her lack of eating. “Is it not up to your high Kryptonian standards?”

“I’m just surprised you can cook.”

Instead of being offended, Mon-El actually laughed at that. “Contrary to popular belief, I don’t actually want my servants to do everything for me.”

Kara glanced at him, a little surprised at that admission, and tentatively reached out with a utensil to take a taste of the food. Her eyes widened, surprised that it was…good!

Mon-El smiled a little proudly to himself when she took another bite quickly after.

“It’s…good,” she offered when she looked up after her fifth bite to see him watching her.

“Thank you,” he responded civilly, before sighing. “I should thank you for before as well.”

Kara frowned at that, trying to think of anything she could have done that would earn his thanks. “For what?”

“I only returned a short while ago from thirteen years being tutored in the Well of Stars,” he explained, looking down at his food as he spoke even though her eyes were on him. “I’ve been dreading the thought of another lecture and council meeting, you saved me from having to attend.”

“My father did that.”

“Then extend my thanks to him.”

Kara eyed him a moment longer. “Thirteen years?” she had to ask. 

It…didn’t make sense with what she’d heard. There were rumors racing everywhere, even reaching Krypton, about Prince Mon-El of Daxam and his wild, partying ways, how he was essentially sleeping his way across the galaxy. And now he claimed to have been away for 13 years stuck in the Well of Stars?

Mon-El let out a long, weary breath at that. “It’s a custom for Daxamite Royalty,” he explained, scratching the side of his face. “The heir apparent is to spend time in the Well of Stars, being educated on all matters related to ruling Daxam. At the age of 25 they are to spend ten years learning. I wasn't exactly the most willing student so it took me longer." He grimaced at the thought of the extra three years his father had tacked on as a punishment for his not-up-to-par academic reports. "It’s to prepare me to assume the throne without losing time ruling.”

“Because you’d return the same age as when you left,” Kara worked out. Mon-El would assume the throne and he’d be able to rule an extra ten or so years because he hadn’t aged during his lessons.

“Exactly.”

“Then you haven’t been…” she cut herself off, blushing as she looked back down at her food.

Mon-El actually chuckled, “Sleeping with half the galaxy and getting drunk out of my mind every night?” He’d heard those rumors. “No. Don’t get me wrong,” he added with a cocky tone. “I have had my fair share of partners, very, VERY well satisfied partners,” he winked at her, taking immense pleasure at seeing her getting flustered at the innuendo. “And I’ve been the life of the party here and there, but nothing like the rumors would have you believe.”

“Your parents aren’t concerned with that?” she asked. “That people are making you seem…”

“This is DAXAM,” he reminded her, shrugging easily. “My parents were thrilled that people seemed to think I was learning the numerous arts of how to pleasure a partner. Makes it that much easier for them to negotiate an alliance.”

Kara didn’t respond to that, not entirely sure how such degrading rumors could HELP him. And so they fell into a silence that didn’t feel as uncomfortable as Kara had thought it would, finishing their small snack in peace.

Mon-El stood when they finished and nodded towards the door, indicating she should head that way and so she did, pausing in the doorway to look back and observe him.

She’d expected him to leave the dishes for the servants, to not care about his mess because he had others that could clean it for him. But instead she watched as he took a few minutes to wash not only the utensils he’d used, but the plates they’d eaten off as well. She tilted her head, furrowing her brow when, just before he turned to join her and leave the room, he set a plate aside with a small towel over it. Her eyes widened minutely when she realized it was the “save me half” Dar-Blaine had mentioned before. THIS was the room he’d been speaking of, the kitchen wench comment made sense now. 

Kara let out a little breath as Mon-El passed her and headed into the hall, following him in silence as she thought on the moment. 

She actually felt…bad…about how she’d acted before. He HAD been civil to her, polite even, had taken her to a lovely area of his palace, shared it with her…and she’d been closed off and rude about it when he’d just tried to make some small talk. She had snapped at him when she really had given him every reason to believe what he was saying to her. And, just now, she’d assumed more things about him that had ended up being untrue as well. 

She did not like his mother or father, just from meeting them and hearing them speak to her and her parents, she could tell they were every bit the selfish, arrogant Daxamites her people loathed. But…Mon-El had surprised her. In…a good way. So far.

“Oof!” she cried out in a squeak when she stumbled backwards, having walked right into Mon-El when he’d stopped and she hadn’t realized it. She blinked and looked around, seeing that they’d walked back to the main floors without her realizing it.

“I’m sure the discussions will be over soon,” Mon-El remarked, shuffling just slightly on his feet.

Kara frowned, from what her parents had said, they’d expected to spend nearly the entire day there. “So fast?”

Mon-El shrugged. “My parents aren’t known for their patience. Chances are they’ll call the end to the meeting quickly just to make a statement.”

“What kind of statement is that to…”

“That they can make your parents do as they wish,” Mon-El answered, not even needing her to fully ask her question to know what it was. “They demanded this date, they made your parents come to Daxam, they can call the meeting and send your parents away before they even really begin, only to call them back at a later date and prove their power.”

Kara frowned deeply at that. “My parents wouldn’t return if their time is just going to be wasted.”

Mon-El mirrored her frown. “Whatever it is they’re discussing, it is a very serious matter. My parents would never invite or welcome a Kryptonian to Daxam the way they did if it wasn’t.”

“What could be so serious that our parents would actually both sit down and talk about it?”

“Beats me,” Mon-El said with an easy shrug, a smile back on his face that caused a flash of irritation in Kara at how quickly he could just cast aside something that really HAD to be serious for both their parents to get involved with the other.

Kara let out a sigh. “Then we should head back, if you’re so certain it’ll be called off.”

“We will,” he reassured her. “But I needed to make a quick stop here.” He gestured to another door. “I’ll only be a minute.”

“Mon-El!” Kara hissed as he disappeared though the door, only realizing after she’d called out that it was probably HIGHLY improper for her to address the Prince of Daxam in such an informal way. She quickly looked around to make sure no one else had heard her and let out a breath of relief to see she was alone.

She crossed her arms in front of her, shifting from foot to foot the longer he took.

Three minutes later he stepped out, much to her growing irritation, a wide smile on his face, that same smug one that made her want to smack him.

“What was so important you had to…” her question was cut off when Mon-El pulled something from behind his back and dangled it in front of her face.

It was the most beautiful necklace she’d ever seen. It was a delicate silver chain, so thin it almost appeared invisible, with a small jewel hanging off it. The jewel itself wasn’t lavish or obnoxious, but it formed an almost upside-down obelisk shape. It was blue, such a rich, brilliant blue, that it reminded her of comets she would watch shooting through space and leaving such sparkling trails in its wake. It was simple, but beautiful in its simplicity.

“For you.”

Kara blinked, her eyes snapping up to his. “What?”

Mon-El offered her a sheepish smile. “I don’t know what your favorite color is or if you have a favorite jem, but this was the same shade of blue as your eyes. I thought it would be fitting for a gift.”

“A fitting gift for what?” She shook her head, utterly confused.

Mon-El’s look almost seemed to be saying it should be obvious what the answer was. “It IS your Name Day, right?”

Kara blinked rapidly at that, shaking herself from her thoughts on the necklace’s beauty. “But Daxamites are selfish.”

She wanted to slap herself for saying that. It was what her people thought, and whether they were true or not…she had a feeling Mon-El wasn’t as selfish as he liked to appear. He wouldn’t be just GIVING her something like this if he was, especially not as a Name Day present.

“Maybe we are.” He shrugged easily, brushing the accusation off and stepped closer to her, undoing the clasp as he went. Kara only barely caught on to his intention enough to lift her hair away when he’d moved behind her, his arm coming over her shoulder to take the other end of the necklace strand. “But the Royal Family cannot afford to be,” he spoke as though reciting something. “They must always look out for the betterment and future of the planet, no matter the cost to them.” He finished with the clasp, forcefully ignoring the goosebumps that seemed to have risen on Kara’s skin from where his fingers had brushed the back of her neck, to step around her and face her again as she dropped her hair. “I doubt my parents will have made the best impression. But I believe hope for the future rests on the next generation to be better.”

Kara let out a breath at that, at how…sincere and firm he sounded as he spoke those last few words. She shook he head lightly as she observed him, one of her hands moving to curl around the jewel. “I was wrong about you,” she murmured.

Mon-El gave her a small smile. “And I was wrong about you too.” 

No Kryptonian would have sat with him and eaten a dish he prepared if they were that snobby and holier-than-thou as his people believed hers were. They would have been more likely to spit on his food or stick their nose up and refuse to touch it. Kara hadn’t. She’d actually complimented it.

Kara had only just started to smile back at him, when a voice called from down the hall. “My Prince!”

Mon-El’s entire expression blanked out, causing Kara to frown at how quickly it had just…vanished into such a bland mask. “Yes?”

A guard gave a short bow. “The King and Queen request yours and the Kryptonian's return.”

“The meeting has finished?” Mon-El asked, though he didn’t have to. The guard merely nodded. “Very well.”

The guard turned on his heel and strode away.

Kara watched him go before glancing down at the necklace around her, and hesitantly lifted the jewel to tuck it under her shirt.

“Probably for the best,” Mon-El mused, watching her do it before offering her his arm.

Kara looked down at it, only this time she stepped closer and accepted it, the two of them walking back to the long staircase that her family’s transport was still sitting before. She could see her parents, their body language and expressions telling her they were just BARELY holding in their irritation, and sighed. A quick glance at the King and Queen, their too-smug grins and pleased body language telling her they’d done exactly as Mon-El suggested, called the meeting off too soon just to spite their visitors.

“Mother, father,” Kara greeted as they approached.

Mon-El politely slipped his arm from her hold and moved to take his place by his parents, giving her a small nod when she looked over.

“Kara,” her father reached out to place an arm around her. “We will be departing now.”

“So sorry we had to end our riveting discussions so soon,” the Queen called as they turned to go, her voice too mocking and dry to be genuine.

“We understand,” Alura replied diplomatically, giving them a nod of courtesy. 

“We shall be in touch for when we can resume our discussions,” the King added.

“Of course,” her father replied tightly. “We shall be waiting.”

Kara glanced back over her shoulder just once when she reached the transport to see Mon-El’s gaze locked on hers. She wanted to smile at him, to let him know she didn’t hold him in the same regard as she did his parents for this, but she didn’t think it was best to do so with the King and Queen so nearby. Instead she forced herself to turn back around and enter the transport, moving to sit down at one of the chairs off to the side while her parents took two on the other side.

She could hear them quietly grumbling about the King and Queen and Daxamites in general, but she couldn’t help but rest her hand over where the necklace was warm against her chest and smile just the smallest bit in a gentle surprise.

Her Name Day hadn’t been as awful as she’d thought it would be that morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made up a little more about Daxamite culture, and the Well of Stars/tutoring thing was just a way for me to explain Kara and Mon-El being the same age. Though it does feel like something Daxamites would do in order to prepare for ruling while still being able to rule longer than normal. 
> 
> I'm going to also try to slip in references from things or events or lines from the show like little easter eggs :-) Or to try and add in my interpretations of things that happened in the show, lines Mon-El gave or things he does to give more background. Like he learned REALLY fast how to cook and even with a cookbook not everyone can manage it, so maybe he had some interest in cooking even before he landed on Earth and maybe he actually DID do a lot for himself instead of relying on servants since he adapted pretty quickly to doing things for himself so I wanted to explore that here :-)
> 
> As for how this is all happening: I feel like what we saw in the show was just the tip of the iceberg for Music Meister's abilities. If he can create and control a dream world...really why couldn't he control the dreaming/consciousness aspect of it as well? He put Kara and Barry in a dream world to teach them a lesson, of course he would need them to be conscious to learn that lesson and so they retained their memories and awareness. Here, he is going to be teaching them a very different thing and I felt, if the situation was different and he had a different reason for doing it, then perhaps his power could manifest differently. Here Kara and Mon-El are completely unaware that it's a dream, they have no conscious memories of a life on Earth (for Kara) or escaping Daxam (for Mon-El). It's like if Black Mercy could be controlled, and Music Meister is FAR more powerful than a parasite, I'd think. 
> 
> Also...Music Meister IS in this chapter. Did you spot him? ;-)


	3. Growing Closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made up a little of Daxam's history. Nothing very huge to the story or in relation to Daxam on the show, just a little background for something Mon-El talks about ;-)

A feeling of acceptance and contentment was not something Kara had ever thought she’d feel when associated with Daxam, let alone having to go to the planet. But there she was, in her family’s transport, with her parents, on their way back to the planet. Just as Mon-El had suggested, his parents had called hers back to continue their discussions barely a week after they’d left. She had expected to feel the same discontent and irritation as before when she accompanied them, but this time she could admit she might be…almost…looking forward to returning to the planet. 

Which…made sense given how she’d found herself joining her parents on this jaunt as well.

The transport landed with a gentle thump, startling Kara from her thoughts. She looked to her parents as they stood and quickly followed them out of the transport, a small, polite smile on her face as they came face to face with the king and queen once more. She found herself fighting to keep the smile on her face when she failed to see Mon-El standing among them. 

But why should he be? He was the prince, not the king. Maybe he didn’t have to sit among these meetings? Maybe he was off doing other official business? Maybe he was just shirking his duties? He didn’t HAVE to be there. She shouldn’t have expected him to be. It wasn’t like he knew she was coming. And even if he did, he didn’t owe her anything in terms of being her guide. It had been her father’s wish last time that kept her from the council room. Maybe it was different this time.

She should have thought of this before joining her parents.

“Welcome,” the King greeted, a smug grin on his face as he saw them approach. 

“King Lar Gand,” her father greeted once more. “Queen Rhea.”

“Let us reconvene in the council chamber,” Queen Rhea remarked, gesturing to the large doors in the wall they had disappeared through last time. 

Kara felt mildly disappointed as she moved to follow her parents, which surprised her. She had wanted to learn about politics, diplomacy, the ties that held planets together. But as she approached the door, a part of her felt disappointed that she was going to be forced to sit through a meeting that was, no doubt, going to be unbearable to deal with, from the smugness of the King to the derisive comments from the Queen. She didn’t know how her parents handled it.

However, there was no doubt she felt offended when the Queen quickly put an arm out to block her way from entering the room. 

“Your Majesty,” Alura quickly turned around to speak to the Queen. “This is our daughter, Kara. She…”

“Yes, I remember your spawn,” Rhea cut in. “However, there are three of you and a mere two of us.” She gestured to her husband, disregarding the number of guards already standing in the council room. “We will NOT be outnumbered by Kryptonians in our own council.”

“Surely the prince could join…” her father began.

“Mon-El is…indisposed at the moment,” Lar Gand offered, causing Kara to frown.

“The girl will wait out here,” Rhea stated. “She will be well protected.”

Kara glanced at the guards in the hall as Rhea gestured to them, the queen merely turning and shutting the door, cutting off Kara’s sight of her parents’ apologetic and guilty faces. Kara let out a small huff and spun around, crossing her arms. As much as she might not have wanted to sit through hours of disparaging remarks and arrogance from the royals, being turned away left her flustered.

She had just stepped forward to sit down on a bench nearby, when a voice called out making her jump. 

“Now what are YOU doing out here?”

Kara turned to see a Daxamite…Dar-Blaine she recalled, striding towards her at leisure. “I’ve been denied access to the council.”

Dar glanced at the doors and nodded as though it made sense, before he gave her a wide, almost conspiratorial grin. “Well then we’d best get you to Mon.”

Kara blinked, hurrying after the man as he simply turned on his heel and walked off in the direction (Kara hoped) that lead to the gardens. “I thought he was indisposed?”

“Oh, he is,” Dar laughed. “But I think he’ll make an exception for you.”

“Is he ill?” Kara asked, trying to remember the direction he was taking her. She hadn’t exactly wanted to pay attention last time. But the gardens HAD been beautiful. 

“Nothing like that,” Dar reassured her, leading her around a corner and through an archway into the gardens. “Mon!” he shouted when he spotted Mon-El.

The man had been lying beneath a large tree, his head resting on his arm behind his head, with his other hand over his eyes, his knees bent and feet on the ground. He quickly jumped up when Dar shouted, but fell back with an oomph and a groan.

“I was trying to sleep, Dar!”

“Oh, I know,” Dar grinned widely, pleased. “I brought you a gift to make up for it.”

Mon-El frowned and sat up on his elbows to look over at them, his expression morphing into wide surprise when he caught sight of Kara beside his friend. “Kara!” He quickly scrambled to his feet, brushing off the dust and dirt from his clothes as he stepped closer. “What are you doing here?”

“My parents were recalled to the planet,” Kara stated with a frown. “Did you not know that?”

“No, no, I did know,” Mon-El answered. “I just…I thought only your parents would come.”

“They um…they asked me to join them.” She glanced away from him, fighting away the embarrassed flush trying to claw its way onto her cheeks. The last thing she wanted was for him to somehow tell that SHE had been the one to ask her parents to join them.

Mon-El seemed amused by that. “And you said yes?” Kara merely shrugged. “I’m sorry for that.”

She offered him a small smile. “It’s not SO bad.”

Mon-El couldn’t help the smile that came to his face at her words.

Dar-Blaine glanced between the two of them, fighting a smirk of his own as they continued to look at each other, seeming to forget he was standing right there. He began to step back quietly and slowly, hoping to sneak away while they were distracted…only for Mon-El to reach out and grasp him by the shoulder.

“Oh you’re not going anywhere,” Mon-El told him, giving Dar a look. The man seemed FAR too pleased with himself. “If you’ll excuse me a moment, Kara?” Kara nodded and Mon-El quickly pulled Dar to the side a few feet, lowering his voice as he spoke to his friend. “What are you doing?” he half-hissed. “Dar, I’m in NO state to entertain right now.”

“I can see that. I'm honestly surprised you haven't resorted to the Morpheus Pleasure Pills yet,” Dar remarked, a hint of disapproval in his voice. 

Mon-El dropped his head at that, rubbing his forehead at the mention of the pills. It was exactly as it said in the title, they were drugs one could take to have pleasant…pleasurable…dreams. He gave Dar a frown. “Don’t think I haven't tried that,” he countered. “It’s worse than the nightmares.”

Dar did NOT miss how Mon-El sent the quickest of glances at Kara when he spoke of the pills.

“I thought you’d appreciate if I brought her to you when she was refused entrance to the meeting,” Dar shrugged, a teasing smirk coming to his face again. “You know, since you haven’t stopped talking about her since she was here last?”

“What?” Mon-El scoffed, but his gaze flickered away. “No I haven’t!”

Dar gave him a look. “You’ve literally done nothing but complain about her…”

“That is NOT the same as talking about her…”

“And half of them sound more like compliments than complaints,” Dar finished. He sighed. “Look, it was either bring her to you or leave her with the guards.” He gave Mon-El a pointed look, both of them knowing exactly how much worse it could be to have that last option play out. “The guards hate me. They would never let me stay with her. This was the only option.”

Mon-El sighed, already knowing that was true. The guards would be cruel to her without physically harming her, and they would have forced Dar away if he remained there longer than a few minutes. As poorly as he was feeling at the moment, he wouldn’t wish that treatment on his worst enemy…and given a Daxamite’s worst enemy was supposed to be Kryptonians…he couldn’t wish it on Kara.

“Fine, fine,” Mon-El muttered. “I’ll take her to the library or something.”

Dar nodded at that. “Sounds good.” He patted Mon-El on the shoulder. “Though I would have suggested the music chamber. Best way to a lady’s heart,” he added as he started to walk backwards away from them, making a small heart symbol over his own with his two hands, “Through music.”

Mon-El shook his head, waving Dar off before he turned back to Kara and stepped back over to her. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine,” Kara offered.

Mon-El’s gaze drifted to her neck, a smile making its way to his face as he spotted the necklace he’d given her hanging there. He was sure he hadn’t seen it when she’d arrived with Dar, but that just meant she’d pulled it out once Dar had left. “You kept it.”

“Of course I did.”

“I just…I thought…” he sighed. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a Kryptonian keeping a gift from a Daxamite.”

“To be fair,” she countered lightly, not as offended as she would have been had he’d said it during their first meeting. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a Daxamite giving a gift to a Kryptonian before either.”

“True, very true,” he laughed, though there was something pleased in his expression that made her heart race to see. “How would you like to see the library?”

“You have a…” she quickly cut herself off, flushing in embarrassment at where her question was going. “I mean, you do. Of course you have a library. Why wouldn’t you?”

Mon-El laughed as he started to lead her away. “We’re not all senseless orgy throwers,” he offered, teasing her more to see how much redder her face could grow. A startling shade, he discovered. “We do have SOME culture to us.”

“I know that,” Kara defended, following him through a door a short walk from the garden and quickly reaching for the first book she could spot, opening it to a random page…and quickly snapping it shut with her face a now-dangerous shade of red.

Mon-El quickly plucked the book from her. “I’ll admit,” he laughed heartily, recognizing the book and its subject matter instantly. “NOT the prime example of that…”

Kara sputtered as she looked at him with wide eyes. “That’s not…this is a joke right? That book is just…it’s fake? It’s impossible to…to do that…in…in that position…”

Mon-El just grinned slyly at her. “Oh I assure you, it is VERY possible and VERY pleasurable.”

Kara had to look away at the wink he sent her, trying to calm her racing heart and the embarrassment flooding her at what she’d seen drawn on that page. A book like that should NOT exist. But, then again, this WAS Daxam and…

Her thoughts were cut off when she finally caught sight of the room they had entered. The library was enormous! She’d never seen one so big! And the books, there were so many books! She was so used to data-books and virtual information on Krypton that she’d almost forgotten what it was like to have actual books around. For all that Daxam was evolved and as high-tech as Krypton, there was something to be said about having a paper copy of information. And the libraries of Daxam, it was rumored, were some of the largest in that sector of the galaxy in terms of physical books. Looking at it now, she believed it.

“Come on,” Mon-El said softly, seeing the awe in her eyes. She must have been overwhelmed by the sheer size of the library and number of books, because she didn’t even seem to notice how he’d taken her hand instead of her arm to guide her further in.

Kara let out a small squeak as she found herself pulled down to sit on a large, very plush, very soft and comfortable, couch set up along the wall. She looked over as Mon-El sat down beside her, examining a stack of books on a nearby table, muttering to himself something about “not this one” and “she’d hate that one” and “don’t need to scar her even more.” She’d started to get worried about the sorts of books Daxam seemed to have a wealth of, when Mon-El let out a triumphant whoop and leaned back on the couch.

“This…this was one of my favorite books as a child,” he offered, holding up the book for her to see.

She looked at the title with a small frown of concentration.

“Valor,” he translated for her. “He was a…a hero, in Daxam’s past. Long, long ago. Before the monarchy was even in place. He…he’s actually the reason the monarchy began, he was Daxam’s first king. Fought in a war, went on adventures, got the girl, saved the day…”

Kara observed his face as he spoke of the man, the way his expression softened, the way he wistfully talked about Valor’s story. It was clearly a very important story to him, one that was dear to his heart.

“Read it to me,” she said before she even realized she’d spoken. Her eyes widened as he looked up at her. “If…if you want to. I…I didn't mean to…”

“A Kryptonian actually wants to learn about a Daxamite Hero?” Mon-El asked, though the smile on his face was small and teasing.

Kara rolled her eyes. “Well I doubt you have many other books different than…than that one.” She jerked her head towards the one near the door she’d grabbed before. “This one seems the safest. And we have while to go…”

“I was just teasing, Kara,” Mon-El reassured her. “I’d be happy to read it to you.”

And that was how Kara found herself resting on a couch, her legs tucked under her, listening to Mon-El translate his favorite childhood story as he read it to her. She had to smile at that. A part of her actually thought he’d just read it in the original Daxamite. He surprised her by translating it for her into a language she could understand.

He was…odd like that, he wasn’t anything like she’d thought he’d be. Every time she thought of something, some example of Daxamite culture she would write him off for…he surprised her and proved her wrong.

She blinked, actually startled when Mon-El cut off in the middle of his reading to let out a long yawn.

“Sorry.” He flashed her an embarrassed grin. “Sorry I’m not better company at the moment. Rough night.”

For a split second, an irrational flash of something…(she refused to identify it as jealousy as she had NOTHING to be jealous about)…went through her and, before she could stop herself, words were spilling out. “Your partner wear you out?”

She held her breath after that, sure that she had offended him with how hard and judgmental her voice sounded just then. (It was not, NOT, because she was dreading the answer. Absolutely not.)

Mon-El, however, just chuckled. “No, nothing like that.” Before he gave her a smug smile. “And for the record, I’M the one who wears them out.”

Kara flushed deeply at that and looked away.

“But no, it’s just…bad dreams,” he offered.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She looked back at him, hurrying to add when she saw his expression grow a little more guarded. “Not to pry. I don’t mean to pry. It’s just…My younger cousin, Kal, he…he had nightmares as well. He would wake up completely convinced that Krypton was about to explode. He didn’t start feeling better till he began to tell us about them, share them.”

Mon-El gave her a rueful smile. “Your cousin and I have that in common, a fear for our planet.” He sighed and scratched the side of his face. “I…sometimes I dream that Daxam is under attack. The entire planet is being destroyed by it and I’m…I’m just powerless to stop it. I’m just…useless. My people and my planet suffer because I couldn’t help them.”

“How do you usually try and deal with nightmares like that?” Kara asked seriously, reaching out to put a hand on his arm, hearing how truly upset and unsettled he was by the dreams.

“Why?” Mon-El was back to joking, making Kara frown even more. “Looking for advice to give your cousin? Trust me, my way of dealing would be quite…unsavory…to the delicate Kryptonian sensibilities.”

Kara gave him a confused look.

“Drinking, drugs, and lots of sex,” he deadpanned.

Kara’s eyes widened, sending her eyebrows into her hairline as she quickly looked and pulled away from him, her face flaming. “No…no…I um…not…no…”

Mon-El laughed heartily at her reaction. He hadn’t been doing that much of any of the things he’d listed, but that was generally what Daxamites turned to when they weren’t feeling happy.

His laugh quickly turned into another yawn, and Kara jumped on the chance to change the topic. “Here, give me that,” she reached out to take the book from him. “You’re clearly exhausted. Let me finish the story.”

Mon-El eyed her in confusion. “It’s in Daxamite.”

“No,” Kara teased. “I never would have imagined…”

Mon-El cracked a smile, hiding another smaller yawn behind his hand. “You can read Daxamite.”

“My parents taught me since I was a child,” Kara agreed, scanning the open page for where he’d left off. A part of her needed the distraction, but another part of her…felt bad. She’d assumed, when Dar had mentioned Mon-El before, that Mon-El was merely hungover from drinking or suffering the aftereffects of the chemicals Daxam was famed for using. She’d been wrong to assume it was for that reason and not something he was actually hurting over and struggling to cope with. “As far as I can remember, the House of El has always had some sort of contact with Daxam. My parents thought it prudent I be able to understand your language.”

Mon-El nodded. “I can read Kryptonian,” he admitted.

“Perhaps I’ll bring my favorite book next time,” she offered, giving him a quick glance to see him smiling and nodding at the thought, before she focused on the book and picking up the story.

It took her a little longer to translate it, she was familiar with Daxamite, but it wasn’t her native language. But she made do and, she liked to think, did it quite well. The story was engaging and riveting, she found, and before she knew it she was as invested in it as she could picture a young Mon-El had been.

“Wow.”

Kara jumped with a gasp, dropping the book to look up, seeing Dar-Blaine leaning in the doorway, his arms crossed, looking at her with an odd expression.

“You scared me!” she nearly shouted, scrambling to hide her necklace back in her neckline…as though he hadn’t already seen it or noticed her doing it, but he didn’t say a word about it so she didn’t think too much on it. 

Dar quickly put a finger to his lips, gently shushing her as he stepped into the room, before pointing behind her at her confused look.

Kara turned, her heart warming in her chest at the sight beside her. Mon-El had, at some point, fallen asleep while she’d been reading. His body was turned towards hers, his feet still on the floor, his arms crossed, but his head resting on the couch, tilted to the side as he slept. There was something undeniably soft about his expression when he was sleeping. It was peaceful, with a small smile on his lips, all the lines of his face relaxed. 

A small part of her could admit he was…a little more handsome like this than with that infuriating cocky grin on his face.

“I’m surprised he’s sleeping,” Dar remarked quietly as he approached, moving to lean on a small table. “I can’t remember a time Mon fell asleep without aid.”

“Aid?” Kara asked quietly, though she didn’t look away from him. She gripped the book tightly in her hands, too tightly, in an effort to refrain from the temptation to reach out and brush a strand of his short hair that had fallen onto his forehead away.

“Both physical and chemical,” Dar agreed, watching as Kara shifted uncomfortably at the mention of it. One might assume she didn’t like the concept of using either to sleep…but there was something distinct in her expression as she looked at his friend that told him she was more unsettled by the fact Mon-El needed either to sleep.

“He said it was just nightmares…” Kara murmured.

Dar’s eyes widened comically at that. “He TOLD you?!”

Kara looked at him sharply, a warning in her gaze that told him to be quieter, but she nodded anyway.

“Huh.”

“What?”

“It was like pulling teeth to get him to tell ME about it and I’m his best friend.” Dar tilted his head as he observed her, before he snorted. “That little traitor. Of course, a pretty woman flutters her eyes at him and he caves.”

“That’s not…” Kara began, flushing.

But Dar continued, “He must feel comfortable with you,” he mused. “Safe. Huh.” He shook his head a grin on his face again as he clapped his hands, startling her. “Well, I’m here to lead you back.”

Kara blinked, feeling whiplash at the sudden change in the tone of the conversation. Was it just a Daxamite thing to go from serious to joking all the time? “Why?”

“The meeting is wrapping up,” he explained.

Kara gaped. “So soon?”

Dar seemed amused by that. “It’s been 7 hours.”

“What?!” Kara quickly hurried to her feet, completely thrown by that. She had lost all track of time when it had been just her and Mon-El and their book. “I didn’t realize…”

Dar just waved it off. “Mon has that affect on people. But we DO need to head back, and very soon.”

Kara nodded, turning instinctively to bid goodbye to Mon-El, only to remember he was still sleeping peacefully. She moved closer to the couch, leaning over to place the book where she’d been sitting and glanced at him. In a moment she could only call impulsive (and out of her mind), she leaned further and pressed a kiss to his forehead the way she would do to Kal before he would fall asleep when he’d visit or had a nightmare. 

She immediately flushed at the action and turned, pretending to ignore Dar’s wide smirk at her action, heading for the door, pausing only once she’d gotten outside to realize she didn’t know her way back.

Dar merely strode out, his hands in his pockets, whistling the same odd tune she’d heard him make before. She followed him silently, hoping her face would stop flaming by the time they reached the main staircase. Whether it had or not, she still didn’t know, but her parents said nothing about it when she and Dar arrived to see the meeting already ended.

“Kara!” Alura rushed to her side to embrace her. “We were concerned to see you gone…”

“I was with Mon…um, Prince Mon-El,” Kara explained, a flash of guilt reaching her that she’d alarmed her parents.

“Really?” Lar Gand seemed vaguely surprised by that.

“It is…surprising he would be willing to put up with a Kryptonian in his state,” Rhea agreed.

“He was more than accommodating,” Kara defended, just barely holding back the bite and irritation in her voice.

She wanted to be annoyed with the hidden meaning and slight in their words against her. And she was, very much so. But another part was coming to see another side to their remarks. They weren’t as…proud of their son either with some things they said. Even now, it sounded like Rhea had no faith in Mon-El’s diplomacy, or she thought he was just being irresponsible and lying to them about how badly he felt. Either way…she was even less amused and pleased with Mon-El’s parents with each meeting.

Lar Gand, however, nodded, and turned to her parents. “We will be in touch regarding our next meeting.”

Kara nearly groaned at that information, their discussions STILL weren’t over yet. But she kept it in, choosing to follow her parents back to their transport instead.

“Kara,” her father took her arm, speaking quietly to her as they walked down the stairs. “How was the prince, truly?”

“He was fine,” she reassured them. “He was merely exhausted. He had a rough night.”

The second her words left her mouth, she realized she should have phrased it differently judging on the outright disturbed and disgusted looks on her parents faces. She could imagine where their minds had gone, exactly where hers had.

“No!” she rushed to explain. “No, not like that.” She flushed again and had to wonder if this would be something that only happened on Daxam as she appeared to blush more there than she had in her entire life. “He had…he had nightmares. Like Kal used to.”

Her parents nodded and stepped into the transport, Kara following after them.

She couldn’t help but think, as she lightly touched the necklace hidden beneath her dress, that perhaps Kryptonians and Daxamites were more alike than either wanted to admit.

She felt a smile come to her face, actually looking forward to learning more about how Mon-El might be, who he really was past the party-prince façade he put on. And now…thinking about her parents next meeting with the king and queen…she had an excuse to join them on that as well.

She just had to find that book first…whether or not Mon-El would appreciate a romance about ill-fated lovers as much as she did, well…she looked forward to finding out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly am not sure if Valor was an actual historical figure on Daxam or not or how the monarchy began, so that part is just made up since, in the show, we don't know much about it at all and the story is based on the show :-)
> 
> And to give an answer, yup, the Music Meister is Dar-Blaine :-) You very smart cookies worked it out! :-D I took it from the actor's name, Darren, and his most famous character on Glee, Blaine :-) I am really loving him, Dar is so much fun to write :-D
> 
> Also, just a sort of basic outline. I am planning for there to be about 7 more chapters before we get back to the main story. So, if I can keep up posting twice a week, we'll get to the aftermath of these chapters by the first week of July. And I have to say, I am SO, SO looking forward to Kara and Mon-El waking up. Like you have no idea :-D


	4. Changing Tunes

Kara clutched a book tightly to her chest as she followed her parents out of their transport and towards the giant stairs that led to Daxam’s royalty. Her parents had apologized for asking her to join them on this trip once more, but what the Queen had said during their last visit had given them pause in their efforts to leave her on Krypton. 

Which she was oddly thankful for. She had spent the two weeks between that trip and this one trying to think of a way to ask them to join them without seeming too eager or having to explain her friendship with the Prince. They weren't fond of the king or queen and she hadn't wanted to risk them refusing to allow her to go because of their son.

But with the Queen’s remark about not wanting to be outnumbered by Kryptonians, her parents were concerned for the very same thing, to be outnumbered by Daxamites if they arrived alone and the prince dined to join them in the council. They highly doubted the Queen would agree to an even number of representatives if it meant the Daxamites would be more numerous. Her presence would help if the Prince did wish to join.

If he didn’t…well, she’d merely smiled and requested to bring a book with her to read while she waited for them. They didn’t need to know if was for her to share with Mon-El in that duration.

She nearly let out an audible breath of relief when she saw the King and Queen…with Dar-Blaine standing there in Mon-El’s place. The smirk on the man’s face told her she was not going to have to endure the meeting or just sitting around with the guards again. She’d hardly even heard the greetings exchanged, they always seemed to be the same thing. Her parents were respectful, the King and Queen were less than, and they left to head into the council chamber.

“Please tell me…” she began the second the doors were shut.

Dar laughed and nodded. “Mon sent me. Come on.”

Kara was momentarily startled when he began to walk in the opposite direction of the gardens, but figured Mon-El might just be in a different room, or perhaps there was a shorter way to the library. She quickly hurried after him. “How did he get out of it this time?” It wasn’t till the words left her mouth that she realized how…insulting they might sound, as though she were scoffing at the Prince.

But Dar didn’t seem to think anything of it when he replied. “Lucky for you he was in council with his father until the late hours, going over the last reports from his tutors and was excused from such an early meeting.”

Kara flushed at that, at her assumption Mon-El had done something to get out of the meeting himself instead of him being excused. 

“And…here we are,” Dar paused before a large, ornate door. “Mon is just inside. You head on in.”

“Where are you going?” Kara called as the man briskly walked off.

Dar spun to walk backwards while facing her. “Getting a head start!” was all he said before he spun back around and turned a corner.

Kara’s face scrunched in confusion for what he meant by that, but shook herself from it, turning to push the door open…

…only to gasp and immediately drop her book as her hands flew to her eyes.

“I’m SO sorry!” she apologized, spinning around though her frazzled brain didn’t think to supply her with the thought to actually LEAVE the room.

The room clearly being Mon-El’s BEDROOM.

She was going to kill Dar-Blaine.

…and now she understood why he needed a head start.

“Kara?” was Mon-El’s call from behind her.

“I am so, so sorry Mon-El!” she rushed to get out. “PRINCE! Prince Mon-El. I didn’t know. I just…Dar-Blaine said…and I should have knocked but…”

Mon-El chuckled. “Does Krypton not celebrate nudity?”

She was sure her face was flaming now. “PLEASE tell me you still have your pants on!” she begged him and Rao that he did. 

She had walked in on him working on the belt of his pants, with his shirt off. She had no idea if he was undressing or getting dressed and she was willing to beg even the Daxamite gods it was the latter. If he was naked behind her…she was going to faint and be horrified in herself for years to come.

She heard him walk closer to her and tensed, feeling him reaching out to touch her arm lightly. “I’m decent,” he told her.

She let out a relieved breath that he didn’t seem angry with her and turned to face him, slowly lowering her hands from her eyes…only to fling them back up. “You said you were decent!”

“Am I not decent to observe?” Mon-El asked.

“Put a shirt on!” Kara half-hissed at him. He STILL didn’t have a shirt on and the glimpse she’d gotten of his chest…she’d had to STOP herself from telling him that yes, he was quite decent to look at. A little more than just decent really…

“Kara,” Mon-El reached out and gently gripped her forearms in his hands, tugging them away from her face, but her eyes were still firmly closed. “You know, it’s considered a great compliment on Daxam to have your body observed and be found pleasing to others.”

Kara bit her lip at that, there was a hidden counter in that. That was to say, to be seen and found lacking was an insult. And her actions right now? How she was refusing to look at him? She could imagine, in a Daxamite context, that she was being very insulting to him.

“Hey…” she inhaled sharply when she felt his hand on her cheek, his thumb lightly stroking there. “It’s ok to look, Kara. There’s no one here but us. I won't tell if you won't.” He gave a light chuckle. “I’d be more offended if you DON’T look…”

His words alone should have been enough to open her eyes, because they were confirming her fear that she was insulting him with her actions. But that wasn’t what caused her eyes to open at all. It was the odd tone of his voice. She was sure, had her eyes not been closed and her ears working twice as well, she wouldn’t have heard it. She had though. There was something unmistakably…vulnerable and anxious in his voice. As though…as though he were afraid of what she thought of his appearance.

She found herself taking a breath and opening her eyes before she even realized it, though her gaze honed in on his storm-grey eyes.

Mon-El merely smiled at her and stepped back, dropping his hand from her face. “What do you think?” He put his hands behind his back, the action only serving to make the firm muscles of his chest more pronounced.

Kara tried, she would swear she tried, not to look down at his chest and his toned abdomen, at how wide and strong his shoulders were, but it just…it couldn’t be helped. It really couldn’t. No one, and she challenged even the most uptight of Kryptonian women to argue, could NOT look at someone like Mon-El when he stood before them shirtless. It just wasn’t possible.

She could admit though…she really hadn’t ever seen another man shirtless before. Krypton was more conservative in their views of the body. They valued the mind more so than appearance. But, standing there, gazing at his upper body, she felt a heat pool in her stomach, which was now twisting in knots, and her heart speed up just a little more than normal. He was…appealing to look at.

And ok, yes, he was FAR more than just decent.

She swallowed hard, trying to force her eyes back to his, trying to get her tongue to tell him that he should put the shirt off…on! Put it ON! But all that happened was, without her conscious approval, her hand coming up to lightly touch his chest a moment.

She quickly snapped it back, startled out of her trance by the feel of his skin against her fingertips, the lightest brush of his chest hair triggering something in her mind to finally pull itself together. 

“You are…decent,” was all she could muster to say.

Mon-El smirked as though he knew exactly how much more than decent she found him. “Thank you.”

She gave him a tense nod. “Now please put a shirt on.”

He let out a long-suffering sigh, rolling his eyes. “If you insist.”

“I do.”

She winced and turned around, moving to pick up her book for a needed distraction because her insistence had sounded entirely too weak and forced at the same time and she KNEW he’d picked up on it. What Daxamites might lack in boundaries, she’d quickly learned, they more than made up for in intuitiveness and reading other people.

“I’m decent,” he called a moment later.

She scoffed. “NOT falling for it again.”

“I deserved that,” Mon-El mused, a nod in his voice, as he walked over to her to move in front of her, revealing he WAS decent to see and had put his shirt on.

“Thank you,” Kara breathed, feeling her tense body relax if just a bit now that he was covered up. 

(…and if a traitorous part of her mind kept trying to picture him without the shirt on, she quickly shoved it down.)

“I aim to please,” Mon-El told her, before his words seemed to catch up to him and he shot her a wink. “In every sense of the word.”

Kara rolled her eyes and fought off a blush, half shoving the book into his chest for SOME way to change the conversation to something a little safer. “I brought my book.”

Mon-El looked down at it, eyeing the cover. “Star-Crossed,” he read the Kryptonian just as he said he could. “I had a feeling you would pick a romance.”

Kara blinked, startled. “You’ve read it?”

“Surprised?” he teased.

“A little,” Kara had to admit. “Daxam isn’t well known for their romances.”

“Ah but we are known for our romancing.”

“Please don’t destroy my favorite book,” she half-whined. “I don’t want to be as scarred from it as I was that…that thing in your library.”

Mon-El smirked. “That thing?”

“You know which book I mean!”

“Hmm…” he considered it playfully. “Oh! You mean the Book of Pleas…”

Kara reached out quickly and without a thought to propriety to put her hand over his mouth. “Don’t speak of it!”

Mon-El, however, laughed as he pulled her hand away. “Then we’ll just speak of your book then.”

“I would be happy with that.”

Mon-El nodded and glanced around. “We should probably head somewhere else though.”

“Why?”

Mon-El gave her an amused look. “I would have thought you, a woman, wouldn’t want to stay in my, a man’s, bedroom?”

“Right!” Kara quickly agreed, backing towards the door. “Right, yes. We should…we should go.”

Rao if her parents found out she was in the prince’s bedroom…

Mon-El reached past her to open the door for her when she struggled to get the knob working, gesturing for her to step out and quickly following. He paused a moment to shut his door and began to lead the way somewhere.

“I must admit,” Mon-El began, flipping through a few pages of the book. “I’m surprised you have a paper copy of it.”

Kara shrugged. “It was one of my favorites to read. My parents grew tired of me using the data power and decided a paper version would be in my best interest.”

“It’s well-worn,” he observed. “You’ve read it quite a few times.”

“Well I love it.”

“I’m surprised you do.”

“Why?” She frowned. “What’s wrong with it?!”

“It has such a sad ending,” he remarked, moving to the last few pages. “They both die. It’s not as cheerful a book as I’d picture you to read.”

“You don’t know me,” Kara defended instantly.

Mon-El glanced at her, a flash of hurt in his eyes at her cold words. But he closed the book and handed it over. “I like to think I’m learning to.”

Kara sighed, glancing down at the book now in her hands. “As am I,” she admitted. “I like it because I find it to be…warning. It is telling you to cherish the moments you have, to never let something as silly as hate or prejudice blind you to what is really important. It’s…it’s saying that love is something to be treasured and celebrated, not mocked or scorned or forced into the shadows. I think the ending is beautiful in its tragedy.”

“I hate the ending,” Mon-El spoke, not countering her words or arguing, just stating his own thoughts. “Love is…important,” he agreed. “It IS something to be treasured and when it is given and discovered and returned, it is…something to be joyous about. If love is involved, the ending should be happy. Love should always be more powerful than hate. It makes me wonder if their love was really that true if it couldn’t overcome their obstacles.”

Kara was silent, considering that. “I’ve never thought of it that way.”

Mon-El shrugged. “I just think…when it's a true love, the lovers deserve to be happy.”

“I can agree with you there,” Kara glanced at him, oddly touched by his views on the subject. 

She hadn’t expected a Daxamite to be that…passionate about a feeling she’d been told over and over Daxam had no value in and couldn’t feel. She should have realized by now that Mon-El would surprise her in that area as he had in all others. But she found she liked it when he did. 

Mon-El stopped walking suddenly, causing Kara to turn to face him. His entire expression radiated surprise, though she saw a playful edge to it. “What?” he gaped at her. “Did I…did I just hear you right? A Kryptonian is actually AGREEING with a Daxamite?! What has the world come to!?”

“Shut up,” Kara shook her head, a smile on her face, feeling none of the offense she had when they’d first met, she liked that they’d both gotten past that initial reaction of anger.

“And a smile!” he continued. “Imagine that, a Daxamite getting a Kryptonian to smile.”

“You did not.”

“Oh really? So you’re not smiling now?”

“No.”

“That’s not a smile on your face.”

“No it’s not.”

“You know,” he stepped closer to her. “You get this crinkle on your brow when you lie…”

Kara nearly went cross-eyed as he reached out to gently brush his finger along the middle of her eyebrows, just above her nose. She quickly reached up, fully intending to slap his hand away, but instead found herself grabbing his hand and lowering it. “I do not crinkle.”

“You’re crinkling right now.” He smirked at her.

“I am not!” she tried to sound firm, but ended up laughing at how ridiculous they sounded arguing like that.

“And a laugh!” he cheered. “I’ve managed a smile and a laugh!” he announced it like there were other people in the empty hall that were pleased to hear it. “I shall consider it a victory for the day.”

Kara rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And you’re still smiling,” he murmured, just smiling at her in return.

Kara inhaled lightly at the sight, his eyes were sparkling with a life she couldn’t remember seeing in them before…not that she’d paid much attention to his eyes during their last few meetings.

Mon-El seemed to snap out of it first as he took a single step back from her. “Come on,” he cleared his throat. “We’re almost there.”

Kara hadn’t realized she hadn’t let go of his hand till she felt the tug on it as he began to move and she delayed by a second. She couldn’t help but look down when she felt her fingers spaced apart as he slid his through hers, lacing them together as he guided her on.

The door they came to wasn’t as ornate as Mon-El’s had been, but she could tell that whatever was behind it was more…acceptable to nobility than the kitchens would have been in how fancy it looked. Mon-El pushed it open and her mouth dropped open at the sight. 

She had heard of the parties the Royal Family of Daxam were famous for…but she’d never imagined a room quite this large before. It could easily fit her entire home in it, she was sure. 

“This is our gathering room,” Mon-El explained. “It’s where we host our parties and dances, where our musical performances are held.”

He led her as she stared around towards a small stage on one end of the room. He helped her up the few steps and over to a series of curtains on the side, pulling them open to reveal a room behind it full of instruments. 

“Dar and I call this the music chamber,” he remarked. “Do you play an instrument, Kara?”

Kara had to blink a few times to gather her thoughts back from how…impressed she actually was with the size and actual class of the room. The carvings and high ceilings, how it blended in seamlessly with the technology and the old-fashioned quality…it was beautiful. Her gaze landed on the instruments and a wistful smile came to her face.

“Sadly, no,” she answered. “I tried to learn, but I’m hopeless. Can you play?”

“One or two.” He nodded, stepping forward to pick up an odd looking instrument. Kara watched intently as he began to stroke one side of it that had ridges on it, lighting them up. His touch was feather light as he nimbly brushed his fingers along it, causing the device to emit a light, airy sound. 

“It’s beautiful,” she remarked as he played a few notes, clearly scales, moving to sit on a padded bench to watch.

He smiled at her praise and focused on the device, playing what was meant to be a song for her. He hadn't gotten a chance to do this much, play for fun. He had tutors, was expected to play something adequately, but his parents never truly appreciated it...not like Kara seemed to. He found himself playing a number of songs and tunes for her before one in particular nudged its way into his mind. He glanced at her before focusing on the device and playing something he sincerely hoped he was doing right.

It took her a moment to catch which song it was, not used to hearing it on such an instrument, but a wide grin spread across her face and, before she knew it, she was singing the first few words of the Kryptonian song. She should have been surprised he knew one, but if he could read Kryptonian, then it wasn’t a far cry to imagine he knew a few songs.

Mon-El quickly stopped playing, causing her voice to die out and a frown to appear on her face. “I’m sorry I…”

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, staring at her in awe, before shaking his head. “Your voice, I mean. You…Kara why didn’t you say you could sing?”

She shrugged. “You asked if I could play an instrument.”

“And you don’t think your voice counts as one?” he teased. “You’re…fantastic. You really are.”

“Thanks,” she blushed at his words. “I used to help sing Kal to sleep when his nightmares would be bad.”

“Sing for me?” he asked, holding up the device to her. 

She bit her lip but nodded, singing the song along with his playing, never taking her eyes off him and surprised only slightly when he was able to play without looking away from her as well. 

As the song wound down, they both smiled at each other…until an eager and excited clapping sounded behind them.

They spun around to see a young woman with dark red hair had been clapping with a wide smile on her face. The second she saw them looking, she quickly moved into a deep bow to Mon-El, her brown, nearly tattered dress brushing the ground, ducking her head.

Mon-El sighed stepped past Kara to the girl’s side. “This is my friend, Kara,” he explained in Daxamite, Kara listening intently to translate what he was saying. He reached down to guide the girl to her feet again. “You don’t have to bow when she’s with me.”

The girl nodded tensely, looking from Kara to Mon-El. She said something rapidly, too quickly for Kara to catch beyond the words “meeting.”

Mon-El nodded, and reached out to gently turn the girl to leave, thanking her quietly as she departed. He sighed and turned go Kara. “Io says the meeting is finishing up.”

“Io?” Kara asked as he moved to put the instrument away.

“She’s…she’s one of the slaves my parents purchased from Slaver’s Moon.”

Kara stiffened at that. She knew, of course she did, that Daxam employed the barbaric tradition of buying and selling slaves. But she hadn’t thought she’d encounter one. She…she hadn’t really seen many other people besides the guards now that she thought about it. And that girl…she was young, probably Kal’s age, and dressed in clothing that was falling apart. She was small and thin and she’d been so SCARED when she’d seen Kara standing there, so quiet and tense and…

Mon-El let out a sigh at that, seeing Kara’s reaction and well aware of how Kryptonians felt about the slavery system. He merely turned and began to lead her out of the room to the hall, not bothering to offer her his arm, knowing she was likely to refuse it as briskly as she had when they’d first met.

“I’d almost forgotten Daxam operates with slavery,” Kara spoke tensely.

“My parents own slaves.”

“And that makes it better?” She huffed. “Your family owns slaves but you don’t?” 

“Yes, actually. I only use servants.”

“Unbelievable,” Kara scoffed, disgust in her tone. “You’re every bit the self-entitled Daxamite I…

“There’s a lot Daxam does that I don’t agree with,” he spoke to her so quietly she wouldn’t have heard him had she not been beside him.

Kara looked at him sharply for that. 

Mon-El glanced at her and around pointedly as though telling her to speak quietly from that point on. “There’s not much I can do till I’m King except treat them kindly.”

Kara frowned at that. “But you’re the prince!” Surely he could do something more than just “be nice” to the slaves.

“And my father is KING,” he reminded her. “Daxam isn’t Krypton, Kara. Even if father dies, I won’t be king because my mother is his crowned Queen and she would rule as regent. I would have to wait till both of them die or, in some slim chance, decide to pass the crown to me officially. Not even the guards listen to me if my parents have expressly told them to do or not do something.”

Kara reached out and touched his arm, hesitantly looping hers through his in a show of apology. She could hear it in his voice, how…upset he actually was by that. The way he was talking, the franticness, the helplessness and resignation…it was all clear to her. He actually felt wretched about the position he was in.

“You have no idea what it’s like to want to change something but being powerless to actually DO it.”

Kara looked away at that, feeling ashamed of herself. She kept doing that, despite her best efforts, she just kept assuming things about him, jumping to the worst case scenario. And each time he’d proven her assumptions wrong. Each time she could tell it hurt him for her to do it. It must be terrible, she realized, to have others just expect the worst from you all the time.

“I’m sorry,” she told him quietly. “I didn’t know.”

She SHOULD have known though, or guessed at how he really felt. He had been…kind…to the slave girl. He knew her name when his parents couldn’t even be bothered to learn hers. He had told her not to bow, had spoken to her with understanding, had reassured her. He had THANKED her, something she was sure his parents wouldn’t even contemplate doing. If he hadn’t said anything, she would have thought the girl was a friend like Dar-Blaine or a loyal subject come to fetch the prince with how he treated her. She should have seen it in his actions just how little he saw the girl as a slave to be treated like dirt and how he treated her like an actual person.

“No one knows,” he warned her. “You and Dar, you are the only people who do. You can’t tell anyone Kara. Not your parents, not even Kal. NO ONE can know how I feel about the system.”

She nodded, not fully understanding his insistence, but agreeing. “I won’t say a word.”

He let out a relieved breath now, bringing his free hand up to squeeze hers on his arm. “Thank you. It’s just…if anyone finds out what I really think, if they find out I want to abolish it…they could try to refuse me the crown for incompetency.”

It was the real reason he’d spent an extra three years in the well of stars. His tutors and his father hadn’t been keen on some of the more subtle things he’d write in his reports or choose to study or suggestions he’d bring up to hypotheticals. 

“I didn’t know.” 

“I know,” Mon-El reassured her. “I keep hoping I’ll be crowned before then, that, maybe, they’ll let me be king sooner so I can do something.” He scoffed. “It won’t ever happen.”

“Why?” Kara frowned. 

“No Daxamite gets power and just gives it up,” he remarked with a sour distaste in his words.

Kara observed him. “Except Valor.”

He glanced at her and considered her words, considered the story of his favored hero, nodding. “Except Valor.” 

The brave man who had been Daxam’s first king because the people wished it, ALL of them wished it. He had relinquished his crown to his son long before he had died and his son has ruled well…till Valor passed on and the son was free to do as he wished without the threat of his father revoking the decision.

“And you.”

Mon-El actually stopped walking at that to stare at her. “What?”

“You said you can’t change anything till you’re king,” Kara began. “But after it’s changed? Then what?” She looked at him, right into his eyes and he got the oddest feeling she was looking right into his very soul, into his very being, seeing something there not many could or would even bother to try and see. “You don’t seem like a King.”

“You don’t know me,” he mimicked her earlier words.

“But I’m learning to,” she countered with thought. “I can’t see you being king.”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes at that. “Like I haven’t heard that before. My parents take no small amount of pleasure in reminding me I’m not ready to be king too.”

“No, not like that,” she stepped closer to him and looped her arm through his once more, getting him to keep moving as they talked. “I mean…I can’t see you being as power-hungry as your history makes your rulers seem to be. You’re a good man, Mon-El of Daxam.”

Mon-El was silent as he considered her words. What WOULD he do after he was king? After he’d changed things? He knew he wanted to be a different king than those that came before him and that would start with abolishing slavery the second he could. It was...awful. He felt like a prisoner himself, under his parents thumb, doing their biding or else facing the punishments (and weren’t they just a wide variety of physical beatings or psychological manipulations, emotional beratement and mental abuse). He had no control over his own life, with no choice but to obey or be punished, he lived in fear of his parents, just like, he imagined, the slaves did. He wanted them free, he wanted them, his people, safe. He wanted to rid the planet of the caste system, make things equal, provide justice for all, give people a voice.

…but what happened after he did that?

Without slaves or class systems or a need for a monarchy…what would he do? The more he thought on it, the more he could see Kara was right about him. He didn’t want to be king anymore than a slave wanted to be a slave. He didn’t want that power and level of control. He didn’t want to have that say over the lives of so many people. He didn’t want to be selfish and let himself be built up and supported at the expense of other people.

He just…he wanted to be Mon-El, whoever that was.

“I’m glad I met you, Kara Zor-El.”

Kara glanced at him again, a soft smile on her face. “I’m glad I met you too.”

He smiled at that, turning a corner that led to the main council chamber, seeing his parents and hers already outside it, though still quietly discussing something.

Kara let out a sigh as she caught sight of her parents’ tense forms. “My parents are always so frustrated after these meetings,” she commented. “Always in a foul mood.” She bit her lip. “Does it make me a bad daughter that I hope this meeting has gone as well as the others?”

Mon-El shook his head. “No.” He glanced at her, leaning in to whisper in her ear as they were close enough to the others to fear being overheard. “Besides, I still need to show you the Garata Dragons. This meeting HAS to have gone that well.”

Kara let out a small laugh at his words, pulling away when they drew the attention of the others to make her way to her parents’ sides.

Mon-El moved past his parents, spotting Dar-Blaine leaning against a wall beside the council doors and went to stand beside him, watching Kara and her family depart.

“What did I tell you?” Dar playfully nudged him when Kara glanced back to send a smile at Mon-El, lightly touching the top of her chest where Mon-El knew the necklace he'd given her was still hidden. “Is music the way to a girl’s heart or what?”

Mon-El rolled his eyes and shoved Dar to the side, though his eyes remained fixed on Kara till she disappeared into her transport.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter guys, I am really excited for. Like...if you thought Kara seeing Mon-El shirtless and her reaction/thoughts were fun here, next chapter and the affect he'll have on her then? ;-) ;-) 
> 
> ...too bad we have to wait till Wednesday to see what that is :-D
> 
> In the show, I felt like Mon-El likely DID have thoughts about slavery being bad and wanting people to have a voice and equality long before Slaver's Moon or his near-return to Daxam. To me, it just felt like, with his planet being gone, he would have had no reason to think more about it all anymore than he already had since there was nothing he could do with the planet being gone. But now that his people were alive again, it was too sudden a thing for him to want to make changes in for him to NOT have been thinking of it for a while, likely ON Daxam. Maybe he knew how he felt, but he HAD to keep quiet because of how his parents were and the system. Rhea already proved she was abusive, Lar Gand he was already afraid of, and Rhea's actions after Lar Gand was killed proved Mon-El, even as prince, would not have become king with her alive. He would have had to wait a very long time before he could even think to change anything and if he spoke up about his thoughts he'd just be beaten till he was quiet again :-(


	5. The Art of Seduction

Kara was almost used to it by now, standing outside the council doors as they shut behind her parents, locking them in with the King and Queen of Daxam while she was locked out. Only this time, Mon-El and Dar-Blaine were nowhere to be seen and she had no book with her. She looked around, hoping it would be like the first instance where Dar-Blaine had meandered in and whisked her off before she even sat down on the bench across from the door. After a full two minutes of no sign of him she began to slowly make her way to the bench, as though if she walked slowly enough, Dar-Blaine or Mon-El might appear. Neither did even as she reached the bench. She hesitated, glancing around at the guards who, while not looking at her, she had the distinct feeling were watching her and contemplating her intelligence as she moved at such a sedate pace. She began to slowly lower herself towards the bench, inch by inch…

…and quickly shot up the second her bottom reached the cold bench as she saw Dar-Blaine walking down the hall, his head bent over a datapad he was tapping furiously.

“Dar-Blaine!” she nearly cheered.

Dar looked up and the expression on his face told her he really had NOT been expecting to see her with how wide his eyes had gone with shock. “What are you DOING here?!” he demanded.

Kara frowned at the absolute horror in his voice at the sight of her. “I’m sorry?”

But Dar was shaking his head. “No, no, no, you can’t BE here! Not today!”

Kara’s frown morphed into a full expression of confusion at that. “Why not?”

Dar just hurried over to her, lightly grabbing her arm and leading her off at a quickened pace. “We need to get you to Mon. NOW.”

“I don’t understand. What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong is you can’t be here today,” Dar stated, as though it explained everything. “You weren’t supposed to be here. The King and Queen didn’t say anything about another meeting…”

“Because there is no other meeting,” Kara explained. She had actually been a little worried when so much time, nearly three weeks, had passed with no word from Daxam that the meetings were officially over...until the transmission had come in. “My parents got a request only hours ago demanding their presence for some feast. The King and Queen said they were to be guests of honor for all their efforts during their negotiations.”

Dar let out a suffering groan. “Of course they did.”

Kara was starting to get a sinking feeling in her gut. “They won’t be guests of honor, will they?”

“Far from it,” Dar replied, pushing open a large door to what appeared to be a wide and spacious courtyard just in the back of the palace. There were numerous people, she couldn’t tell who might be servants and who slaves, rushing about, setting up tables and lights and chairs everywhere.

Dar led her straight to Mon-El who had his back to them, calling out directions in Daxamite. 

“Mon!”

Mon-El sighed, “Dar, I told you, I need to get this done before my parents are ready or…”

“We have bigger problems than your mom throwing a fit over her throne being an inch out of place,” Dar cut in, not seeming to have any regard for interrupting his prince.

“What could be a bigger problem than…” Mon-El began as he slowly turned around, and then his eyes shot wide open at the sight of Kara. “Kara! What are you doing…”

“Your parents demanded her family here for the feast.” Dar gave him a pointed look.

“Grife,” Mon-El cursed under his breath.

“Will someone tell me WHAT is going on?!” Kara demanded, her hands on her hips now. Hearing Mon-El cursing like that…she knew it had to be something serious and if her family was in some sort of danger there would be hell to pay from the Daughter of Krypton.

Mon-El let out a long breath, pinching his nose before he looked at Dar. “Can you handle this?”

Dar nodded, taking the datapad from Mon-El’s hand and ushering him away. “Go. Go!”

Mon-El quickly turned and gently took Kara’s arm once more to lead her off, seeming to take her around the castle to the gardens, seeming about to lead her farther when she pulled her arm out of his grip.

“I’m not going a step farther till you tell me what’s going on!” she huffed.

Mon-El looked at her. “I am so sorry my parents called you here. They shouldn’t have done it.”

“What is so wrong about this…this feast thing?” she asked, crossing her arms. “And why shouldn’t I or my parents be here as “honored guests?””

Mon-El’s gaze was so apologetic as he spoke. “Daxam has thirteen major deities,” he explained. “Each moon cycle we celebrate them with a feast to each. Tonight’s is the feast to the goddess of ecstasy and desire.”

Kara blinked at that, stiffening a little, before her face flushed as she realized exactly what he was trying to say. “And…what do Daxamites do at this particular feast? Please say you just eat.”

“We eat and drink,” he agreed. “But as the night progresses, the revelries become more intense and...physical. It becomes more about finding a partner, or partners, to…celebrate the night with.”

“Will my family and I be expected to stay for the duration of it?” She couldn't bear to ask if they'd have to participate. If he said they could leave early, she would have her answer regardless.

Mon-El could only shrug helplessly. “I really can’t say. It’ll depend on how…dedicated my parents become to the celebration. I can try to get you out before the celebrations and revelries truly begin, but my parents can’t be too aware of it.”

Kara let out a breath at that, feeling an odd combination of alarm and fear and disgust at the prospect of having to sit there and witness the Daxamites…do that.

“I’m so sorry Kara.”

Kara looked at him. “WHY would your parents do that?”

“Why do they do anything?” Mon-El countered. “A show of power and desire to humiliate others into submission. If your parents refused…”

“It would be taken as an insult to not attend on a sacred day,” Kara realized, though a part of her also ached for Mon-El. He seemed...too familiar with that tactic, he spoke like he'd had experience being subjected to it. “Their negotiations would stop.”

“I remember seeing Kryptonians at other feasts,” Mon-El frowned as he tried to think. And now that he WAS thinking of it...an odd coincidence was coming up. The ONLY times he'd been allowed back to Daxam from his tutoring was for a feast. Not all of them, maybe once a year, but the ones he attended always had a Kryptonian present. “But…not for this one. Maybe my parents were working their way through the gods but…it’s come around to this one.”

“Ok,” Kara took a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts. “So…I need to prepare myself for seeing…that.”

“Hopefully you won’t,” Mon-El reached out to touch her arms, rubbing them in comfort. “I really will try to excuse your family before the main events. The feast is more a precursor to the night. If I ply my parents with enough wine and…certain foods…” he trailed off a moment as he seemed to realize something before coming back. “They should be too far gone that I can sneak you all out without notice.”

“How are you going to manage that?” Kara asked incredulously, thinking back to what he’d said about wanting to change things but having no real power to do it.

“Like I said, I’m kind to the slaves and the servants,” Mon-El tried to smile though she could tell in his words that he hated having to go this route. “I think I can get one or two to help me switch around the food and drink.”

“Will it get them in trouble?” Kara asked, serious. If it was going to put the lives of other people at risk, she would never ever allow it.

“Only me,” Mon-El reassured her. “My parents know they wouldn’t dare do anything unless I put them up to it. They’ll turn on me. IF they realize. If they even remember the night when they wake up in the morning.”

Kara let out a long breath. “So…it shouldn’t be too bad?”

“Dar will seat you next to me on my left,” Mon-El began to map out the night. “Your parents will be with my parents on their right side. And this is important, Kara,” he stopped stroking her arms to lightly squeeze them, willing her to focus. “I’LL put food and drink on your plate, but you must NOT eat or drink anything from anyone else. If someone offers you food, tell them you are too full from the bountiful feast provided by the King and Queen. Carry your goblet with you the night and do not let anyone near it. Sip from it but don’t let it get less than halfway full. If you leave it unattended, do NOT drink from it.”

“Why?” Kara tensed, feeling that pit in her stomach growing.

“Some of the food we eat for festivals like this…they’re laced with certain spices and herbs that…affect us,” Mon-El explained. “I can pick out the ones safe for you. And the wine…it will be strong. Stronger than a Kryptonian can handle. And I don’t mean it as an insult, Kara,” he added quickly when her expression grew slightly offended. “I mean it is a drink you aren’t used to and it will affect you much more than it would me.”

Kara inhaled deeply. “Ok. No eating or drinking stranger things than you give me. But what about my parents…”

“They’ve been to these festivals before. They’ll know what to watch out for.”

“That’s…that’s not so bad,” Kara tried to smile. “I’ll just…eat some new food and hopefully leave before I see your people trying to reenact that book in the library.”

“The Book of Plea…”

“Don’t speak of it!” Kara huffed, before laughing a little. “You scared me you know. You and Dar-Blaine and all your freaking out and telling me I shouldn’t be here.”

“You shouldn’t be scared,” Mon-El was serious. “I don’t ever want you to feel unsafe here, Kara. But you DO have to be careful tonight. Stick close to me or Dar as best you can. And don’t…don’t try to engage with anyone else.”

She wanted to tell him he had no right to dictate what she could or couldn’t do. She wanted to set him straight about how he was not her Prince and she had a mind of her own. How if she wanted to speak to one of the other Daxamites, she would. But there was something in his gaze, in the way he was stroking her arms again that told her this really was a serious warning. That he was actually WORRIED for her, and it gave her pause. 

“Why not?” 

She had made assumptions about him too often in the past and he had proved her wrong each time. This time she was going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he wouldn’t try to tell her what to do if it wasn’t actually important.

“My people can be…”

“I’ve heard,” Kara cut in gently. “I can guess. I can handle myself. Whatever they have to say to me…”

“You sorely underestimate how far my people will go if you think they’ll merely just speak cruelly to you.”

“Wonderful.”

“They wouldn’t dare do something outwardly crude,” Mon-El reassured her. “But there are…other methods for them to use to humiliate you. I need to prepare you for that, so you can recognize the signs and halt it before it gets too far.”

Kara frowned at that. “What exactly do you think they’re going to try?”

Mon-El hesitated.

“Mon-El!”

“They’ll want to seduce you,” he said in a rush.

Kara actually started to laugh at that. “What? That’s ridiculous!” Despite what she knew of the feast about to happen and who it was dedicated to, the idea that any Daxamite would try to seduce HER was just laughable.

“And why’s that?” Mon-El frowned at how she wasn’t taking this seriously any longer.

“For one, I’m Kryptonian,” she reminded him. “Your people hate my people.”

“If you think something as small as a difference in our species or a preconceived notion of hate would stop a Daxamite from attempting to seduce a beautiful woman, you’re mistaken.”

Kara paused at that. “I’m not beautiful.”

Mon-El shook his head at how that was what she took away from his words, but he felt an ache start in his chest at how she truly believed her words. “I have seen my fair share of beauty, Kara Zor-El, and found nothing as stunning as your eyes.” He gazed into them, seeing hers widen ever so slightly at his words. “They’re like comets, blazing across the sky, lighting up the darkness.”

Kara let out a light breath at that and he could feel her heart rate pick up from where his hands still rested on her arms, his thumbs lightly pressed to her pulse points.

“…and THAT is exactly what I mean,” he continued, his voice growing far less soft and intimate as it had been just moments ago, startling Kara so much she blinked rapidly at it. “They’ll try to seduce you.”

Kara took a step back as the realization struck her at what he’d just done, her face flaming at how she’d reacted to his words. “You…”

But Mon-El continued, stepping closer, his hands sliding down her arms to her own hands. “They’ll try to ply you with compliments,” he warned. “Make you blush, flirt and flaunt. They’ll pull you in close...” 

He tugged her to him, winding his arms around her waist as she stumbled into his hold, not from force but from a slight surprise. 

“Their breath at your ear,” he leaned in more, his nose just ghosting her cheek and up to her temple so his mouth was near her ear, “As they whisper to you, compliments and sweet words to have you melting into their arms. Their hands traveling your body...” 

He felt her breath hitch as one of his hands trailed up her spine as the other drifted to her hip, his thumb gently stroking her side. 

“Making you quiver.” He turned his head just slightly, resting his forehead to her temple. “We know all the sensitive areas of the body, the ones that a mere brush has you gasping…” 

His brushed the thumb of his other hand along the side of her ribs, dangerously close to her upper body as he slid it from her spine and down to her waist, hearing her light gasp in his ear…gods it sounded like music to him. 

“The barest amount of heat has you leaning in…” 

The hand that had been rubbing against her side drifted up and to her cheek, feeling her lean in despite his warnings. 

“The lightest pressure shivering…” 

And he moved his hand from her cheek back, disappearing into her golden tresses, his fingers lightly massaging the nape of her neck, earning the exact shiver he’d spoken of. 

“We know what to say and what to do to lure you in,” his voice dropped lower as he maneuvered his head to brush his nose just below her ear, his lips moving to speak against her neck. “To make you tremble and ache…” 

And slid his face up again, his cheek rubbing against hers as he pulled away just enough to look deeply into her eyes, seeing her pupils blown wide, her breathing labored. He watched as her eyes flickered from his to his lips, felt her lean more into him, felt her hands moving from where they had gone to grip the sides of his shirt to travelling up his chest, resting on it for purchase. 

“To make you want us…” 

He leaned in ever so slightly, feeling a thrill shoot through him as he saw her all too ready to close the gap he’d left between them, the girl leaning in, pliant in his arms, wanting him, he could almost feel how warm she was, the heat racing through her, the shiver of desire within her…

“And THAT’s when they will strike.” 

He pulled away suddenly, feeling cruel to have done it, feeling a wash of irritation and anger at himself to have let it get that far, never had his control been that lacking before and he chastised himself for it. 

Kara jolted, seemingly shocked right out of the daze his words and actions and touches had put her in, her face starting to flame once more as it all started to work in her mind once more.

“You MUST be vigilant and on guard at all times, Kara,” he looked into her eyes intently, seeing the focus there that had been lacking before. “I’m not joking. They will take any chance to get close to you, engage with you, and you must rebuff them at all costs, without fear of reprimand. Or, before you know it, you’ll be ready to throw yourself at them, begging for them, and they’ll do everything they can to humiliate you with it.”

“That was…” Kara swallowed hard, not sure how to even begin describing what she’d felt, what he’d made her feel, the intensity of it.

…not wanting to admit just how close she’d come to kissing him.

…not wanting to even think about how much she wanted to let him.

“What they will do,” Mon-El finished, his voice strained.

And Kara had to focus on him once more, force herself to hear him. Because there was something else in his voice beyond just strain or concern…there was some sort of pain in it too.

“You can’t let them.”

Kara took a deep breath, nodding her head. “I won’t,” she promised.

But, deep down, she could admit she was concerned. Because if Mon-El could get to her that easily while having a respect for her and a…she liked to think…friendship with her…what lengths would his less respectable people go to just to humiliate her?

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Kara wanted to say she’d enjoyed the feast. She had taken all of Mon-El’s advice and instruction to heart. She had only eaten what he’d given her, only tasted the drink in her goblet when he filled it. She remained seated for a large part of the feast, with Dar-Blaine taking up residence to speak with her when Mon-El was dragged off by woman after woman (and three men) to dance and was unable to refuse for he was the Prince. She didn’t speak to anyone else and, so far, the Daxamites hadn’t seemed to reach their frienzied state that she’d feared would come before she and her family could leave.

She had noticed the King and Queen growing more…merry would be the only word she could describe…as the evening went on. The servants (or slaves?) who served them were tense and on edge, clearly having done as Mon-El requested and were plying them with spiked drink and laced food as much as possible. Dar-Blaine seemed to be observing them intently from the corner of his eye whenever it happened.

She had hoped it meant they would retire soon and she could leave.

She wanted to say that it was a good experience, all things considered, but finding herself led around the courtyard by Dar-Blaine, after the Queen had made a remark about how upsetting it was that Kryptonians were so antisocial, and needing to avoid the steadily-more-drunken Daxamites was putting a damper on it. She just had to make it around the courtyard and back to the table and, Dar assured her, the Queen would be satisfied. Honestly, she thought it was just because Mon-El wasn’t there to serve as a buffer between her and the Queen with his seat between them whereas the King was between his wife and her parents. 

Just as they’d rounded the last corner, with the high table where the royals and their designated guests were to sit and look down at the festivities, Dar was pulled into the crowd by a very-clearly-ecstatic woman for a dance, shooting her a deeply apologetic look as he went.

Kara took a deep breath and kept walking. She was close. She could make it. The table was mere feet away, she just needed to get there and she would be safe…

But, of course, luck didn’t exist for Kryptonians on Daxam, and she found her way blocked by a tall, broad Daxamite. He had short hair, from what she could tell, with dark skin and dark eyes. He was smiling at her in a way that was too much a cocky smirk (and not like Mon-El’s cocky smirk), his hand coming out to the side to block her way even more as she tried to step around him.

“Where are you off too in such a hurry, Kryptonian?” he began.

She had to give him credit to how he hadn’t said “Kryptonian” like it was a disease. But everything else about him made her feel ill regardless. 

“I am merely rejoining my family at the main table,” she stated, trying to step to his other side.

But he moved his body in that direction quickly, too quickly that she stumbled back to avoid having to run into him, and his arm shot out to wind around her waist.

“Why not join me at my table?” he leaned in, purring (or she assumed he was attempting to purr) in her ear. “I assure you,” he continued. “We are far better company for one so beautiful as yourself.”

Kara expected to feel some sort of rush through her, just like she’d felt when Mon-El had leaned in and whispered to her before. She expected to have to fight back the light headed feeling that had clouded her mind. She expected to need to bite back a blush.

…all she felt was her skin crawling where he was touching her and the need to push him away from her.

His breath felt too hot on her ear. His body felt too over crowding in her space. His hand was too firm on her back, pushing in all the wrong spots. And she wanted him away from her.

“I doubt the King and Queen would be pleased to hear you speak of their company as being so horrible a Kryptonian would prefer yours over theirs,” she said quickly. 

And she thanked Rao that her words seemed to stun the man enough for her to slip away and around him, hurrying to the table, hoping to get there before he regained himself enough to try again.

Just as she reached it, because of course Rao would never be found on Daxam, another hand grabbed her arm.

But this time she felt herself relax as it closed around her wrist. Whether it was the touch she had somehow grown familiar with or the reassuring scent that drifted to her nose that she associated with only one person or perhaps how gentle the grip was, she just knew it would be Mon-El when she turned to face him.

And it was.

“I’m so sorry,” he spoke quickly, leaning in to make sure she could hear him without them being overheard. “I saw Jaol crowding you and tried to end my dance as soon as I could but…”

“It’s fine,” Kara reassured him as she rested her hand on his chest without thought. She could feel his heart pounding under her hand and found her thumb lightly brushing against his jacket without her awareness in an attempt to calm him.

“Did he attempt something?”

Kara felt her heart jolt in her chest at the look on his face. It was full of concern, as his eyes were, but there was something…dark and threatening in them as well…like if she just said the word this Jaol would be dealt with in whatever manner Mon-El could manage.

“Yes,” she spoke honestly. “But…” she lightly pushed on his chest as he moved as though to go confront the man. “Your lessons paid off. I felt nothing.”

“Good,” Mon-El nodded, breathing out, "Good." He glanced up at the main table and smiled. “My parents seem close to the edge,” he informed her quietly. “They’ll retire soon.”

She glanced over her shoulder to see…well…the King and Queen were certainly less rigid and harsh as they normally were. The King was leaning in on his chair, whispering things to the Queen while she grinned slyly at whatever he was saying. The touches they exchanged, the looks in their eyes…how uncomfortable her parents looked as they could clearly hear everything being said…told her Mon-El was likely right.

Kara looked back at him, about to ask him something, when he gently took her hand off his chest and held it, tugging her towards the crowded dance area. 

“Mon-El!” she hissed quietly, trying to tug him back. “What are you doing?!”

“If I fail to dance with one of the Kryptonian representatives, it will look disrespectful,” he informed her. “My parents may be teetering, but they are sound enough of mind to remember this. I can’t dance with you the first dances, they are meant to be reserved for those we MOST wish to dance with…”

For a split second, Kara felt a hot flash of hurt go through her at his words.

“If I had danced with you like I wanted to then my people would have targeted you far more than just Jaol did.”

And, in the next second, it was replaced by a glowing warmth.

“I had to wait. The dances near the end are for those we “least” wish to dance with.”

Kara found herself smiling at that, at how he had flashed her a pointed look at “least” to let her know it was mere politics and appearances now. Her mind still lingered on the fact he had wanted to dance with her as one of his first partners…which, in a way, she supposed, meant all the partners he’d allowed himself to be pulled to dancing with were people he had been LESS happy to dance with as a result.

…she wasn’t sure if she should feel as pleased with that as she did currently.

“I don’t know your dances,” she reminded him as he moved her to the middle of the crowd.

“Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “By now, most of them are on edge. They can’t focus enough to manage a dance. If you can sway, they’ll count it as a dance.”

Kara gasped lightly as he pulled her into his arms, winding his around her waist as she draped hers around his shoulders. She wondered idly if they NEEDED to be that close, but then again the bodies around her were so crowded towards them that it made sense.

They were quiet for a moment, Kara listening to the music which seemed to be less an actual song and more an odd mix of beats and some kind of singing that sounded more like sighs than words. 

“You said most of them are on edge,” Kara looked back at him. “You aren’t.”

“No,” he agreed. “Nor is Dar.”

“Are you usually during this feast?”

He was silent a long while, before admitting. “Most of the time.”

She felt her throat close in at the admission. “So you’ve partaken in the…revelries?”

“Not in the last thirteen years,” he reminded her, but he didn’t deny that before then he had.

“I see.”

“It’s custom,” he tried to explain. “I’m the prince. I can’t turn my back on tradition…”

“Before you’re king,” she finished, trying to fight past the disturbing feeling bubbling in her that felt suspiciously like jealousy and…hurt…but it couldn’t possibly be that. “Will you keep this festival after you’re king?”

Mon-El let out a long breath. “I don’t know.”

“Of course you don’t.”

“I mean…this is a feast dedicated to a goddess that we believe helps us feel good and…and connected to others. It’s important to all Daxamites, even the lower caste. We don’t like feeling bad, we don’t do well when we feel that way. If I remove the goddess from the pantheon…it would be like telling my people I want them to suffer.”

Kara was silent as she took his words in. “Your people are famous for the altering chemicals you use.”

“We are.”

“It’s said that Daxamites loathe feeling negative emotions, so you take them to not feel it.”

“We do,” he could admit that much. “We drug ourselves so we don’t feel anything but the good emotions.”

“YOU don’t.”

He blinked, startled that she…that she’d noticed that. “What?”

Kara looked up at him, her deep blue eyes searching his, giving him that feeling that she was seeing into his soul again. “I’ve seen you a few times now, and some of those times you weren’t happy. You were tired and exhausted and suffering from nightmares. You weren’t taking anything then. And now, you admitted you weren’t on edge. You weren’t taking anything now. Why? If it’s so important for you not to feel the negative emotions, why haven’t you?”

“Well what do you know, a Kryptonian advocating for drug use…”

“I am being serious,” she cut into his attempt at joking.

He blinked a few times, seeing she really was. She…she was actually concerned for him. “There’s a legend that…that Valor loved his people so much, when he became king he was able to connect to them on another level. Over time, his people began to connect to each other. But it hurts to feel the hurt of others, so we began to use chemicals and drink and anything we could to feel good, so that everyone would feel good.”

Kara nodded, it explained why Daxamites relied on drugs so much. In some way, they were pseudo-empathic, they shared some kind of low-level emotional link to each other. Nothing too intricate that they could actually and literally feel the emotions of others, but more like…a hive connection, a blanket that covered the whole planet. If everyone on the planet felt good, then they would ALL feel good.

But it didn’t explain why Mon-El was refusing the chemicals now. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

Mon-El looked away. “I couldn’t risk being on edge while you were here,” he told her quietly. “If anything happened to you because I was lost in the haze…” he shook his head.

Kara let out a gentle breath at that, startled that his reason for withdrawing was…was HER well-being. “You didn’t have to do that, if it made you feel so bad.”

He offered her a small smile. “I don’t feel SO bad,” he told her.

(…he couldn’t bring himself to add “around you”.)

She returned his smile with a tentative one of her own.

“It’s…refreshing,” he added as an afterthought. “To be clear-minded after relying so long.” He considered his words. “Dar has always been against the chemicals. He’s very happy with this turn of events.”

“Beyond happy really,” came Dar’s voice from beside them, startling them both to the point they jumped apart to see him grinning widely at them.

“Dar!” Mon-El looked like he was ready to punch the man for the interruption.

“Sorry to cut in,” Dar spoke, not sounding sorry in the slightest. “But your parents have retired and the music has since changed…” he gestured around them to where the tempo was clearly much faster and louder, the dancing now more…animalistic and growing wilder by the second. “Thought you’d want to get her out of here before the revelry got in full swing.”

Mon-El nodded, growing serious and started to lead Kara out of the frenzied people now starting to grind against each other.

He looked up to see his parents nowhere to be found and let out a relieved breath. So long as they were gone, they wouldn’t notice if their “guests of honor” left as well. 

“Alura and Zor of the House of El,” he greeted them, seeming to surprise them with his knowledge of their name.

Kara herself was surprised to hear it from him after his parents refused to acknowledge them the entire time.

“Prince Mon-El,” Alura returned, curtseying while Zor-El bowed.

“I thank you, in my parents’ absence, for your attendance and shall pass along your thanks to them for the invitation.”

Zor-El gave him the smallest of smiles for his words. “That would be appreciated.”

“Come,” Mon-El gestured them to follow him. “I shall escort you to your transport. It is very late and the guards will grumble less if I were the one to do it.”

Kara, after all she’d learned of Daxam from Mon-El, could hear the hidden meaning in his words. The guards wouldn’t let them leave without clear approval from the royal house that they could depart. She doubted the King and Queen had given such express orders that they were not allowed off world, but she didn’t doubt they’d made clear that her family needed the “royal stamp of approval” to go.

“Thank you, Prince Mon-El,” Alura reached forward to take Kara’s arm, walking with her as the men led them off.

Kara was silent as Mon-El took them to their transport and bid them farewell with a too-relieved smile. She couldn’t help but give him one of her own in return at how he’d helped her survive the night and her first Daxamite Feast without too much scarring. And she was very, very thankful that he had given her the warning he had in what to avoid should another Daxamite show interest in her, she doubted anyone but Mon-el would have the forethought to imagine what consequences would come from dallying with her. Mon-El, if she hadn’t come to know him to be a respectful person, she could at least say kept things civil and in the realms of propriety for the sake of his parents’ negotiations with her own. But other Daxamites? They would have had no such qualms.

…it wasn’t till she was halfway back to Krypton that another thought shot through her that had her tensing and alarmed.

Jaol had tried to seduce her, as Mon-El had warned, and she’d felt nothing.

But after that, when Mon-El had touched her, spoken to her, danced with her, he hadn’t been doing any of the things he’d used to show her the Daxamite art of seduction or to draw her in as he had in the garden…

…so why had she reacted and felt the exact same way?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh, looks like Kara's feeling things! :-D ...looks like Mon-El might be too ;-)
> 
> I hope the "seduction" scene flowed well, I think I rewrote it like five times before hoping for the best lol :-) I can say neither of them were unaffected by it and that it'll actually set up a lot of the foundation of the next chapter ;-)
> 
> Also, a bitty note, completely unrelated to this story or Supergirl but just sort of a "don't be surprised if" thing:
> 
> I just saw The Mummy movie this weekend and there is a plot bunny that just will NOT let up so I'm going to be posting a random Mummy story possibly later today, Ahmanet/Nick for those that saw the movie or are interested. It shouldn't affect my Supergirl stories in terms of updating, but I just wanted to give a little heads up if anyone gets a notification of a new story and is like "The Mummy? WTH?" :-)


	6. Denial and Heartbreak

Kara was quiet and contemplative as she sat on a couch in her home, staring out a window at the beauty of Krypton beyond. If she happened to be looking in the direction Daxam could be found, no one would be the wiser. 

Her mind was just…swarming with questions and concerns and theories and none of them were making sense to her. She kept replaying the last time she’d been on Daxam over and over, analyzing every moment she’d spent with Mon-El, how it compared to Jaol or even Dar-Blaine. She thought back to each sip she took from her goblet, not feeling any sort of affect from the very watered down wine Mon-El had managed to get a servant to give her instead of the spiked drink the Daxamites were used to. She considered each bite of her meal, trying to work out if it had affected her in any way.

But she found nothing. Because she hadn’t been affected by Jaol, so the food and wine couldn’t explain how she’d reacted to Mon-El afterwards, to the dance they’d shared. Never before had she been so unaware of people around her like that, so much so that she hadn’t even noticed the change in the music. And even if she wanted to blame the food or drink, she hadn’t had anything to eat or drink before the feast…and there had been something with Mon-El then as well. But she could blame that on his lesson in seduction. Right? Yes, of course, it was what he’d done and the intent behind it. 

She had no need to feel so out of sorts about this! He was merely warning her what others would attempt with her. He needed her to feel those emotions so she could recognize them and stop them when they happened next. But they HADN’T happened next, not with another random Daxamite that wanted to hurt her. And when it HAD happened…

“Kara!”

Kara gasped as she jerked out of her thoughts to see a rather impatient and irritated looking Kal standing before her holding one of his beloved puzzle orbs in his hand. It was then she realized he had been calling her for quite a while now and she’d been too lost in her memories to answer him. 

“Oh, I’m sorry Kal,” she gave him an apologetic smile, her gaze flickering to the orb. “But I don’t want to play right now.”

Kal let out a light huff and plopped down beside her. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you ok?”

“Of course I am.” She forced a smile, patting his hand. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know,” he said simply. “You’ve been in a mood since you came back from Daxam.” He frowned. “Did one of them hurt you?!”

“What?” Kara blinked. “No, no of course not. The prince made sure I was taken care of and prepared for anything.”

“Oh. Good.” Kal nodded before her words caught up to him. “You know the prince!?”

Kara had to smile fondly at him. “Yes. His name is Mon-El. He’s been keeping me company while mother and father negotiate with the King and Queen.”

“Really!?” His eyes were so wide. “Have you seen the dragons?”

“What?” Kara laughed.

“I read that they play a game…gar…garana…gratana…”

“Garata?”

“Yes, that!” Kal cheered. “They play it with dragons. Have you SEEN them?”

“No,” Kara shook her head gently. “Mon…the prince promised to show me them one day.”

“Can I come?” he began to hop in place, making the couch bounce at his enthusiasm. “Please? Please, Kara, can I? I want to see the dragons so bad!”

“I’ll ask the prince,” she promised him. “If I journey to Daxam again.”

Kal’s happy smile began to fade. “IF?” He eyed her oddly. “Aren’t you going with Uncle Zor and Aunt Alura tomorrow?”

Kara winced at the reminder. It had been two weeks since the party, but she was still feeling so unsettled from the turmoil going on inside her she was dreading her parents asking her to join them again. “I’m just…”

“Because you’re usually really excited,” Kal continued. “But now you’re sad. Are you SURE no one hurt you?”

“I’m very sure,” she reassured him, taking one of his small hands. “I guess I’m just…betwixt and between.”

Kal’s face scrunched at that. “What’s that mean?”

“I’m confused.”

“About what?”

“It’s nothing, Kal.”

Kal grew so serious she felt her heart melt at the concern on his face. “It’s not nothing if it makes you sad.”

She smiled, squeezing his hand. “I…when I was on Daxam last, Mon-El, the prince, he warned me the Daxamites might try to manipulate me during a feast they were having. And one of them DID try to. But…it wasn’t like he said it would be.”

“Well of course it wouldn’t,” Kal rolled his eyes with a smile back on his face. “You’re WAY too smart to be fooled by a Daxamite.”

“Thanks,” she couldn’t help but give a small chuckle at that before sighing. “But it’s not completely true. The prince demonstrated what might happen and…I fell for it. When the other one tried it, it was like I was immune.”

Kal shrugged. “Then the prince did a good job teaching you. Fool me once as the Earth saying goes.”

“I don’t think it was that,” Kara spoke cautiously, slowly, trying to piece together her thoughts and feelings into something Kal would understand. She had often found that children gave the best answers to what seemed like the most complicated adult problems, they saw the world so simply and typically gave the easiest solutions. “When Mon-El explained it I…I felt like I _wanted_ him to trick me. When that other man tried, there was literally nothing. No feeling at all. I didn’t want him near me. I didn’t want _him_ to kiss me.”

Kal gave her an odd look. “It sounds like you just like the prince.”

“Hold on, no, no, no, no, no, no, I do NOT like him,” Kara sputtered.

Kal rolled his eyes like she’d said something stupid. “You JUST said you wanted him to kiss you.”

“What?” she scoffed. “No. I didn’t say that.”

“You did. Like two seconds ago. You were talking about the other Daxamite and said “I didn’t want HIM to kiss me…””

“I said I didn’t want him to KISS me,” Kara tried to save face, now realizing she HAD said it just like that. 

“Which implies you DID want the prince to kiss you,” Kal ignored her before huffing in the way only a young boy could. “Why do girls like to make things complicated?”

Kara opened and closed her mouth, trying to find some sort of response to that, but Kal just hopped up from the couch and left the room, fiddling with his puzzle orb, leaving Kara to her rampant thoughts.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Kal’s words hadn’t left Kara’s head since he’d spoken them. She had spent the rest of the day arguing with herself about how her cousin was wrong in his assessment. She listed every single reason she could think of why she did NOT like the prince, at least not the way Kal seemed to think she did.

He was a Daxamite. He was a prince. He was cocky and smug and arrogant. He drank and used drugs and he had se…relations with numerous people. His family owned slaves! His parents were awful and cruel and enjoyed humiliating people and he would be just like them. He was trouble…

And then the more she thought about those reasons, the more horrible she felt for using them as reasons not to like someone. The more she thought about those reasons, the more awful she felt because those were stereotypes and every reason she had was something knowing him had countered.

He was a prince who didn’t want to be king unless it was to help his people. He was a prince who wanted to abolish slavery and free the people his parents treated so cruelly. He was a person who wanted to change things but couldn’t do it till something truly awful happened to his parents, who she could tell he loved despite how they were. He was a person who used jokes and smug attitudes and cocky grins to play off what he really felt. He was someone who hadn’t utilized drinks or drugs in…she honestly didn’t know how long. HAD he had access to them in the Well of Stars? Would he have needed them being so cut off from his people? And yes, he had relations with other people, but was it her right to judge him on the customs he had grown up with? The customs his entire planet partook in just because it was different than hers?

He had proven himself to be a kind, genuine, concerned and caring and compassionate person. He surprised her at every turn. He took every negative thought she had about Daxamites and turned it on its head.

And when her thoughts drifted to that, Kal’s words came back to her.

And when her thoughts failed to prove to her why she DIDN’T like him…her body betrayed her by remembering the things he had done and how he’d done them and how much she liked it. She could remember every touch, every brush of his lips, every whisper in her ear. She could remember how her heart sped up, her skin tingled, her stomach twisted and fluttered in anticipation. She could remember how she felt like she couldn’t breathe when he pulled away from her, how close he had been, how warm and firm and broad under her fingers. She could remember how much she wanted him closer, wanted to taste his lips, wanted to touch his skin…

She had to physically fight herself to not think about that, because it would prove Kal right. And she just…she couldn’t. She did NOT like Mon-El like that.

There were explanations for it. She…he had done it on purpose, he had done all that to her to warn her away from other Daxamites that would do the same. It hadn’t meant anything. Not to him and not to her. 

Yes, he was civil to her, kind even, perhaps she might consider him a friend. And yes, she did LIKE him, but she did not like him in that way. It was just…impossible. Kryptonians did not like Daxamites like that and vice versa. And when her parents were finished with their negotiations, then she wouldn’t be required to join them and she would never see him again and that would be that. 

There was nothing there.

(And no, her heart did NOT ache at the thought of not seeing him again. It did NOT.)

She just…she had to prove it to herself that it was just…the stress of the night. It was just his actions affecting her thoughts and clouding her mind. She just had to see him, confront him, let him know where she stood and that would be it.

And so, she was almost angry when she saw Dar-Blaine standing near the royal family when she and her parents arrived on Daxam. Because, of COURSE, Mon-El wouldn’t be there. He had to be somewhere else, shirking his duties again, getting out of another “boring council meeting” when he’d already said it was something important to both their planets.

She didn’t say a word even as her parents disappeared into the chamber with the King and Queen, she didn’t even smile when Dar-Blaine stepped up to her with an easy grin.

“Come on.” He tilted his head to the side to lead her away. “Mon is waiting for you.”

“How’d he manage it this time?” she asked, trying to keep her voice level, not wanting to give away her turbulent thoughts.

Dar-Blaine laughed. “He just didn’t show up. I’m starting to think the King and Queen just don’t want him in there either. Usually they’d be up in arms about him shirking his duties, especially after his tutoring. But,” he shrugged. “Mon doesn’t care, neither do I.”

“Me neither,” she offered, though she wasn’t sure how true it was. She did care, she wanted to know what they were talking about, but at the same time, right at that moment, she didn’t care because she had more important things to focus on, like making sure Mon-El knew where she stood.

“I gotta say,” Dar continued, leading her in a direction she vaguely recalled as heading towards Mon-El’s private rooms. “I’m almost jealous what he’s got planned for you.”

“And why’s that?”

“The observatory isn’t really accessible except for the scientists and the royal family. He’s giving you a pass to visit it.” He laughed at something. “He’s been going on about comets for days now…”

Kara refused to let her heart stutter at the mention of comets, her mind drifting back to what Mon-El had said about her eyes.

…and then she spotted him standing in front of his door.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

“I don’t like you.”

Of all the greetings Mon-El was expecting when Dar told him he was going to lead Kara to his chambers, so that they could head to the observatory (he had developed a certain obsession with comets since meeting her), it was not to hear Kara say that the second she saw him.

Dar-Blaine’s eyes widened at that, glancing quickly at Mon-El before he ducked back with a quick, awkwardly formal bow, and hurried off.

“Ouch,” Mon-El played it off, putting a hand over his chest, covering his heart. “You hit me right here…”

“I mean…not like that,” Kara crossed her arms though she shifted foot to foot, not seeming able to look at him. “I mean I don’t like you like you.”

His face scrunched up in utter confusion as he stepped towards her. “Like me like me? I’m sorry, is that some sort of Kryptonian slang? I’m not familiar with it.”

“It means I do not want to kiss you!” Kara huffed, taking the smallest of steps back when he came too close to her.

He snorted at that, an almost knowing smirk on his face, cockiness thick in his voice. “I sincerely doubt that.”

“Well it’s true,” she stated, just a tad too quickly.

“Oh really?” He lifted a brow at that, a challenging note in his voice. “So you didn’t lean closer to me before the feast.”

“You were trying to seduce me!” she hissed quietly, glancing around, thankful that no one seemed to be in the hall. “To show me how to not be seduced by other people. I wasn’t in my right mind.”

He nodded slowly at that, observing her, steadily moving closer still. “And you are now?”

“Yes!”

“Good.”

And before Kara could even begin to wonder what he meant by that, he leaned in, his hand sliding to her cheek as he pressed his lips to hers.

It was a test and a challenge and a surrender all in one as his lips began to move against hers when she didn’t pull away, slanting across hers when she started to press hers more firmly to his. She didn’t push him back, she didn’t turn away, she gave in, one of her hands gripping the front of his loose shirt, a soft moan escaping her when his hand slid into her hair. Soft puffs of breath escaped their noses, dusting their cheeks as they refused to part, their bodies starting to lean more towards each other with an almost desperate need to be closer.

Only when air became an issue did they part, their foreheads resting against one another’s as they panted, their breaths mingling.

“Grife…” Mon-El breathed after a moment. “I was _really_ hoping that would be terrible.”

Kara pulled away instantly. “Excuse me?!”

“No, no,” he winced. “It’s not…it’s not that, it’s not you. I just…” he looked at her pitifully. “I…Kara I…” He looked into her eyes, shining blue like the comets he wanted to show her, and took a deep breath. He need to be honest with her in a way he’d never been honest with anyone else…because she deserved it. “I’ve wanted to do that for…so long. Since before the feast.”

“…you did?” Kara whispered.

He nodded. “I kept arguing that I shouldn’t. But it got harder to remind myself why. You have no idea how…alluring you are, Kara.” His voice seemed strained at that, making her heart pound in her chest. “I kept thinking what it would be like, imagining it, dreaming about it.” He shook his head fiercely. “I was holding back. If you were another Daxamite, I wouldn’t, but…you’re not. You’re Kryptonian and that’s not how your people do things. I didn’t…I didn’t want to scare you off.”

“Then why kiss me now?”

“Because now I knew you’d let me,” he explained. “I thought…just DO it. Just do it and KNOW. Get it out of my system so it never happens again.”

Kara blinked rapidly, at his admission, at everything he was revealing to her in his words. The more he spoke, the more she felt her reasons for trying to convince herself against what she already knew was true, that Kal was right, fade away. She DID like him in that way. Hearing him talk like this…she was actually afraid of what she was going to ask next. “Did it work?”

He let out a hard breath. “Backfired. Big time. I want to kiss you again.”

Kara swallowed hard, her heart pounding in her chest now. She hadn’t wanted to admit any of her feelings…because a part of her was so frightened that what she felt wasn’t mirrored in him, that he just saw her as a Kryptonian, or that he just didn’t feel the same. Now she heard it, with her own two ears, that he DID. All her reasons, all her walls to keep him out were crumbling around her.

“I…” she took a deep breath. “I might want to kiss you again too.”

Mon-El looked absolutely tormented to step back when she leaned in to do just that, trailing the hands she hadn’t even realized had moved to her arms down to her hands, squeezing them. “We can’t.”

His voice was shaking, it sounded like he was breaking along with it.

“What so you can kiss me but I can’t kiss you?” she demanded, feeling angry tears fill her eyes at his actions, at his words. They didn’t fit! He’d JUST said…

“It’s not that,” he told her. “ _I_ can’t. I shouldn’t have kissed you to begin with. But you’re…you.”

“What’s THAT supposed to mean?!” she tried to keep her voice down, to keep it from choking with tears, from breaking like his had. But it just…it hurt. Her chest felt like it was on fire, her blood was cold, and her ears were ringing.

“It means you’re…special,” he told her. “You’re different. And not just because you’re Kryptonian. But…because you have so much passion and drive and innocence, such kindness and compassion and…I’ve NEVER seen anything like you before Kara Zor-El. You make me…feel things. Things I shouldn’t feel. Things I…” he began to trail off at that. “Things I need to stop feeling.”

Kara blinked rapidly at that, seeing his entire expression closing off to her like it had when the guard had interrupted them the first day she was there. Before she could even ask what was going on in his head, he’d turned and strode away from her, into his room.

Not even caring about decorum or propriety, she followed him, shoving open his door to see him digging through an ornate box sitting on a small table by a lavish couch. It was a small box, she would have thought it was for jewelry had she not seen him wearing a single piece of it in the time she’d known him. 

She hurried over, catching a glimpse of what was in the box, different vials full of liquids, some with powders in them. “What are you doing?” she asked as he began to rummage through it, lifting two liquids to his eyes to examine them before pulling out a third. Whatever it was seemed to be what he was looking for as he pulled the cork from the top of it. But she reached out and snatched it away. “What is this?”

“Give it back.” He held out a hand to her, making no move to forcibly take it from her, but his tone was firm and uncompromising, commanding.

But she was not a subject or a servant or a slave and she didn’t have to do as he bid. “Not till you tell me what this is and why you need it.” He was silent. “You said you need to stop feeling, will this do that?”

Mon-El swallowed hard, his gaze flickering to the liquid in the vial, as though he couldn’t bring himself to answer while looking at her. “It’s called Antiendo.”

“And what does it do?”

“It inhibits the sector of the brain that produces endorphins.”

Kara blinked at that, her skin crawling to know she was holding one of the Daxamite drugs in her hand. “Endorphins. The chemicals that let us feel happiness? Why would you want to stop feeling that?” His gaze flickered to her and her voice caught in her throat. “Am I that disgusting you don’t even want to like me?”

“Believe me, you are the farthest thing from disgusting,” he told her. “I wouldn’t be dreaming about kissing you if you were.”

It was rare, to use that particular drug. Daxam thrived on feeling happiness, to block the part of the brain that triggered the feeling seemed almost counterproductive. But the drug existed for a reason, for this exact reason. If they felt TOO happy around another person, happy in a way that went beyond just feeling physically good, they needed to stop. There was a vicious belief on Daxam that the only people who found mates were those who failed to take Antiendo in time, who failed to take proper precautions. The drug was meant to help them ween off of another person, as though that person were a drug themselves. Looking at Kara now, he finally understood the use of it, because he honestly didn't think he would be able to give someone like her up without help.

“Then why…”

“Because I can’t risk feeling anything for anyone.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“I’m the prince, Kara,” he explained, a desperate tone in his voice. “On Daxam, we’re prearranged to marry our latch-mate. Usually at birth. But it’s different for my family. Houses rise and fall, gain favor and lose it, have wealth and waste it. I have no say in who I marry. My parents do. THEY arrange my latch-mate and I’m stuck with them for the rest of my life. That’s how it is on Daxam. That’s how it is for most of my people. It’s easier if we go with it, if we drink or drug ourselves to not care about the fact we don’t feel anything for our latch-mate. Some people are lucky or brave or foolish to seek out a mate. But I don’t have the luxury of finding a mate.”

“You just said your parents find you a mate…” Kara pointed out.

“A LATCH-Mate,” he emphasized. “It’s two different things. A mate is someone we choose for ourselves. A mate is someone we choose to be with and…and to open ourselves up to. At best, I can hope my latch-mate will seek out an affair and allow me the same courtesy. But I can’t afford to find someone I could love.”

Kara’s heart stopped at that, at the implication in his words. Her gaze flickered to the vial in her hand. He wanted to take it so he wouldn’t feel anything, not even for her. He was actually scared of feeling what he felt for her, because of what it could lead to. And if he was talking about how he couldn’t afford to love someone…and he was talking about her…did it mean…

“Love?” her voice came out shaky and breathless.

Mon-El looked down, almost seeming ashamed. “I don’t know,” he admitted to her quietly. “I don’t know what I feel. I don’t know what that sort of love feels like…”

She nodded slowly at that. He had never said it, but she saw it in how he acted and how he spoke, he DID love his parents. But that was an entirely different type of love than what one would feel towards a mate or who you were supposed to marry. Daxam wasn’t a planet conducive to the development of that sort of love. She didn’t blame him for not knowing.

SHE didn’t even know what she really felt for him. She knew that she was…attracted to him. She knew that she felt a connection to him. There was a depth of emotion inside of her for him that she couldn’t put a name to.

WAS it love?

It seemed unrealistic, they had only met a short while ago. They had only had a few brief meetings. But she wasn’t unaware of how their meetings seemed to bring them closer. She wasn’t unaware of how close they had grown. And she knew that time wasn’t a reason love existed or didn’t. Her favorite book was about two people who fell in love at first sight, love could happen instantly or over time. 

Just like Mon-El though, she had never experienced THAT type of love either. She’d never felt this way before.

But even as she stood before him, she realized…she had at least FELT what she felt and allowed herself to feel it.

“I’ve never felt like this about anyone in my life,” he told her quietly. “I didn’t now that there were this many feelings to even be had. Not till you.” He looked at her intently, his eyes so grey and bright. “You…you make me feel things. And I can’t afford to feel them.”

“Why not?” she breathed, her voice quiet and full of tears.

Still, even now, he kept surprising her. She had never expected the Prince of Daxam to feel anything like what he was describing for HER. A small, vile part of her had thought it was a game to him, but it wasn’t. It really wasn’t. It was so much more serious to him than she’d ever thought.

And she felt both elated that it wasn’t just her feeling something this intense and affecting, and…frightened of how he was talking, like he wanted to stop it before they could even explore it, even really feel it.

It wasn’t till that moment that she realized…she wanted to feel it. Rao did she want to feel what he made her feel. He made her feel alive and safe and beautiful and interesting and…he made her feel on fire and so many other things all mixed in with some irritation and frustration and exasperation…but it was always such a jumble and it felt so…good. It made her feel alive in a way she didn’t on Krypton. 

And now she knew she made him feel just as much.

So she deserved to know WHY he wanted to stamp it down.

“My parents will preselect a Daxamite woman for me,” he repeated. “I will HAVE to marry them. If I don’t break that agreement…whoever I wish to be with would be…would be a mistress.” There was something in his voice that told her that was the very LAST thing he would ever want for her. “But if I DO break from that, over a mate, it could drive my planet into civil war. I won’t condemn the person I…the one I’d choose for myself to suffer that. And I won’t condemn my people to war just because I was selfish.”

Kara let out a breath. “Then what do we do?”

“I…” The look on Mon-El’s face broke her heart at how resigned and pained it was. “I can’t be around you, Kara. Every time I am…I want to be closer to you, I want to stay around you longer. Every time I’m near you, I don’t want to let you go. But I HAVE to. For my people.”

Kara nodded slowly at that, putting on a brave face despite the tears falling from her eyes as he spoke the words she’d dreaded to hear. “I understand.”

“I’m so sorry.”

She tried to force a smile, shaking her head. “It’s not your fault.”

“It feels like it is.”

And it did. To him, it felt like everything was his fault. He shouldn’t have let her near him. She was exactly his type. Blonde hair, blue eyed, bright smile, toned body, and everything else that she revealed to him as they spoke, all the things he hadn’t even realized he wanted to find in another person…it all just added up to his…his perfect mate. If he had the freedom to pick one. But he didn’t, and he’d still allowed her close. He had seen the signs of an attachment forming between them, he should have done something more to avoid it, to stop it, he should have given in and taken the drugs instead of refusing.

Because she was from Krypton, and she didn’t believe in or approve of chemical use like that. And he hadn’t wanted to insult her or cause her to turn away from him, so he’d stopped. And it had allowed the emotions they usually blocked to form and take root.

And now, after he finally surrendered, after he stopped fighting, unable to keep doing it, and kissed her…all of it was pouring out and he couldn’t stop it and he HAD to end it now, before it hurt them both even more.

This was all his fault.

He didn’t even realize Kara had moved till she was standing in front of him, with his hand in hers, pressing the vial into it.

“I have no right to ask you,” she began, her voice soft and shaking. “But please…don’t take this.” She closed his fingers around the vial. “Put it away and forget about it. Don’t…don’t go back to who you were,” she nearly begged him. “For me.”

He found himself nodding before he even realized it, lowering his hand when she let go. “I won’t.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded, “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” She took a deep breath, wiping at her eyes. “If it’s all the same…I think I’ll just wait for the council to break.”

“Of course,” he agreed. “Do you need me to lead you back?”

She shook her head. “I doubt Dar-Blaine went far.”

“He wouldn’t,” Mon-El agreed, knowing his friend. The moment Kara opened the way she had, he’d have stuck close to run interference.

Kara gave him a small nod, failing to manage a smile as she turned and strode out of the room, just barely keeping herself from running, pursing her lips tightly as she looked up, trying not to cry.

And when she saw Dar-Blaine’s concerned expression, how it grew even more so when he glanced back at Mon-El, she knew he had to have been just as bad as she was. 

To his credit, Dar-Blaine didn’t speak a word as he led her back to the council, just sat beside her as she tried to keep her emotions in check around the guards, refusing to leave her side.

And by the time her parents had exited, she had managed to calm her breathing and rid herself of the blotchy red blush that came from tears. She didn’t speak much as they left, but she noticed Dar-Blaine rushed off in Mon-El’s direction the second her parents appeared. She didn’t fault him for wanting to check on his friend. As badly as she was feeling, she knew she had her parents, Kal, and her aunt and uncle if she needed them. She doubted Mon-El had anyone but Dar-Blaine.

And despite what happened…she just wanted him to be ok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are SO lucky! I was literally going to end it with "I was really hoping that would be terrible" but I thought that made for too short a chapter. Imagine THAT cliffhanger lol ;-)
> 
> I feel like the latching system explains why Mon-El was so dedicated to his relationship with Kara on the show, why he kept coming back when she hurt his feelings and why he reacted so strongly against Mxzy. His entire life he knew he was going to be forced into a loveless latching by his parents, he was NEVER going to be allowed to find love. So when he finally found it on Earth, with Kara, he just could NOT give that up without every effort and fighting to the bitter end to keep it. It was something he never hoped to have, to give someone hope and then take it away is cruel :'-( But I feel like it's why he was so dedicated to the relationship and making it work, he loved her and for the first time ever, he had a chance to KEEP that love :-)
> 
> I also feel like being on Earth was also a factor in how easy-going and irresponsible Mon-El came across at times. I imagine, on Daxam, even with his reputation, his parents were always in the background judging him and with his people there and the literal weight of his title on him, he'd have been more responsible on Daxam. On Earth, suddenly he has no titles and no expectations and no responsibilities of THAT magnitude. I feel like, without that weight on him, it explains a little of why he was more laid back and less inclined to be responsible, because for once in his life he didn't HAVE to. Writing this chapter, seeing how he'd give up what he wants for his people, made me think being on Earth was the first time he could have what he really wanted, do what he wanted, and that freedom just came across like irresponsibility and such :-)
> 
> I feel like I should also add this: So far, from my outlines and some prewritten scenes, this will probably be the most angsty part of the story ;-)
> 
> I also love Kal, he's so sweet and smart ;-)


	7. Hope Regained

Kara was laying on her bed, on her side, her back to her door, as she just…rested. She had tried, so hard, to pretend like nothing was wrong, like her heart wasn’t breaking in her chest. She had smiled at her parents and reassured them she was ok, merely tired, when they commented on her lack of conversation on the way back from Daxam. She had played with Kal and helped him solve his puzzle orbs. She had continued to go about her duties and obligations without fault. 

But whenever she was alone, whenever she COULD be alone, she took it. She’d lay in her bed and just…rest. She had used the excuse she was tired too many times in the last few weeks that she was sure her parents were ready to send her to a specialist to ensure she was physically well and not ill. All the pretending made her tired though, trying to force smiles and cheerfulness, while trying not think about Mon-El and worry that he had gone back to that vial. 

She didn’t know if it was love, but she cared for him deeply and the thought of him either needing that vial or actually using it broke her heart. 

She closed her eyes tightly as she thought on him, the overwhelming feeling that she wanted nothing more than to just go to him and hold him in her arms till he felt better nearly crushed her. And the more time she spent by herself, away from him, the more she was beginning to think it really might be love that she felt for him.

How had the saying in “Star-Crossed” gone? Distance made the heart grow fonder?

It was true, she could attest to that. Being parted from Mon-El had never been so hard as now. Because all those other times she had to leave she at least had the knowledge she would return to Daxam and see him again. This time…this time he had asked her to stay away even though it pained them both. She had already missed one trip to Daxam in that time, just a week after her last trip, claiming to be feeling unwell. Two weeks had passed since then and she didn’t know how she’d feel when her parents returned to the planet the next day and she refused to go then too.

It hurt so much to have missed the last trip. And she wasn’t sure if she blamed herself or blamed Mon-El for it all. SHE had been the one to confront him with the ridiculous statement that she didn’t like him, but HE had been the one to jump into actions that had proven they BOTH liked each other. If she had just kept silent, would things have been different? Would they have still had that closeness, that growing bond between them? Would it have manifested another way at another time?

Would it have been better or worse for that to happen? Mon-El had admitted each time he saw her he wanted her around longer, wanted her to leave him less and less. If she hadn’t said anything to him, how much worse would she have felt if that bond had grown and THEN he’d asked her to stay away? Was it better to have happened now? While it was still so new? So tentative and easily broken?

She nearly scoffed at that. It was NOT so easily broken, even now as she tried with all her might not to feel for him…she did.

She missed him. She missed his smile and his laugh, his teasing and his joking. She missed how he always tried to lighten the mood, how he shared his thoughts and feelings with her, how he did his best to make her feel safe and content while on his planet. She missed how his hand felt in hers, the warm comfort just walking beside him had given her. She missed gazing at him, she missed the way he treated her with respect and consideration despite being Kryptonian. She just…she missed him. She missed so many things about him that it should have made her fear for her sanity.

Because she didn’t know him well at all, she didn’t know everything about him. But she still cared and felt drawn to him regardless. She WANTED to know more about him.

And now she never would.

It was an upsetting notion, one that put her stomach ill at ease and made her head pound and her heart hurt. Mon-El had said he had never met someone like her before, and she knew she had never and likely would never meet someone like him either. There were scores of Kryptonian men around, she had male friends and coworkers and classmates, and yet none of them had pulled her in like Mon-El had. 

“Are you alright, daughter?”

Kara let out a long breath and forced her eyes open when she heard her mother’s voice behind her, likely in the doorway. “Fine, mother.”

Alura let out a sigh. “You haven’t even begun to prepare for the trip to Daxam. Are you…not attending this journey as well?”

“If it is alright with you, mother, I would prefer to remain here.”

Alura stepped into the room and moved to sit on the edge of her daughter’s bed, reaching out to run a hand along Kara’s arm. “Are you feeling ill, still?”

“No mother,” Kara stated, hating how hollow her voice sounded in her ears. “I simply don’t see the point in my accompanying you. While you both are off speaking with the King and Queen, you leave me alone with the Prince.”

"You seemed quite content with him before." Alura’s hand on her arms stilled. She had certainly noticed a closeness between her daughter and the prince of Daxam. It was true Kara often found herself in his company, but her daughter hadn't complained at any time before that and she had seen the two talking and sometimes laughing when they would return to the council chambers. She'd even seen them dancing at the last feast, which had surprised her. More so that the prince had initiated the dance than that Kara had agreed to it. The man seemed polite and respectable, as much as she could say for a Daxamite, but he had a certain observational quality to him. He had noticed their discomfort during the feast and excused them early, which they were grateful for. Kara hadn't spoken a negative word about him, which said quite a bit about his character. So what had changed now? “Has he wronged you?”

“No,” Kara closed her eyes once more, her mind flashing through everything Mon-El had done for her and done right by her. “Nothing like that. I just don’t see the point in going if I’m not a part of your business there.”

“I don’t understand why you don’t think you’re part of our dealings with the Daxamites,” Alura remarked and Kara could hear the utter confusion in her voice. “We go to ensure you will be cared for after you wed the Prince…”

“After I _what_?!” Kara jolted up so quickly she nearly fell of the edge of her bed twisting to face her mother, her eyes wide and gaping.

Alura gave her one look before a realization seemed to dawn on her. “Zor-El!” She got up and stormed out of the room, Kara scrambling to follow her now-clearly-irritated mother. “Zor-El!” She snapped once more, striding into Zor-El’s office as the man had just gotten up to go to her. “You haven’t told her!?”

Zor-El seemed confused for a moment before he glanced at his daughter entering the room, the utter shock on her face and the anger on his wife’s clued him in rather quickly. There was only one topic he could think of that would garner THAT reaction. “I didn’t want to influence her reaction to the prince,” he defended. “If I had told her she was to be his wife, she would have resented him even more.”

“But you couldn’t have told her after the first trip!?” Alura pinched her nose. “YOU were the one agreed to tell her!”

It had been her doing, her demand really. She had NOT agreed with the situation at all, but Zor-El had to submit to it. So she had told him in no uncertain terms that if he was going to sell their daughter off, HE would be the one to break the news to her.

“You’ve arranged for me to marry the prince of Daxam?!” Kara looked between her parents, utterly flabbergasted that they could possibly ever have done that to her. “Mother! Father! How could you!?”

“I am sorry Kara,” Zor-El looked at his daughter, his heart breaking at the look of betrayal on her face. “But it was necessary.”

Kara scoffed harshly at that. “How was it necessary to _sell your daughter_ off to a planet of hedonists!?”

“Kara…” her mother stepped closer to her.

But Kara stepped back, shaking her head, her hands up to tell them to stay back. “No! This is MY life you've bartered away. I have a right to KNOW why!”

Alura and Zor-El exchanged a sorrowful look before Zor-El sighed. “Krypton’s core is unstable,” he told her gently. “It has been for…many years now. Jor discovered it and we quickly sought a way to help stabilize it. It has begun to repair itself, but only with the help of Daxam.”

“I don’t understand…”

“The Daxamites mine a mineral that has a stabilizing property, one desperately needed for the core. We negotiated with them a way to obtain the mineral peacefully.”

Kara swallowed hard at that. “By selling me to their prince.”

“It was the only way, Kara,” Zor-El took a step towards her but she backed up just as well. “You must believe me. We would NOT have done it if it wasn’t dire.”

Alura sighed, seeing the tears in her husband’s eyes at how their daughter was reacting, her heart unable to let him bear her anger alone. “We were preparing pods for you and Kal,” she added, revealing just HOW serious the situation was. “We truly thought the planet was going to be destroyed.”

Kara looked between them, noting their complete surety of that statement. For them to have prepared pods for Kal? For a baby? It really HAD to be dire, it really had to have been a true threat to the entire planet. Her entire planet, all the people on it, could have died if the core hadn’t been stabilized.

“What was the agreement exactly?” she asked, her voice weak, unsure if she wanted to know.

“Just as we said,” Zor-El told her. “They provide the mineral, if we provide an acceptable bride for their son.”

“But why would Daxamites want a Kryptonain Queen?” Kara countered. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“They said the only reason they would ever dine to help us would be if they had a vested interest in our future,” Alura remarked, not needing to add that only being the future queen of the planet would garner enough of a "vested interest" for the Daxamites to help them. Her tone was clear that she didn’t believe a word of it. 

Kara shook her head at that. “Why are they REALLY helping us?”

“So they can lord it over us to the end of time that Krypton only survived due to the Daxamite Heathens.”

Kara scoffed but nodded, from what she knew of Daxamites and had glimpsed in the King and Queen…that wasn’t a far cry from the truth. 

“It is the way their planet operates,” Zor-El continued to defend their actions. “They marry to produce the best alliances. They marry when they want something from another planet. They would have the debt of Krypton sealed with the marriage.”

“But we weren’t about to let them just take you,” Alura reassured her. “They wanted you to wed the prince as soon as you came of age, but we…we were able to gain three months to that, to…to get acquainted with the Prince first. And we HAVE been monitoring him, Kara. We’ve been visiting every year to ensure their prince is worthy of you…”

“I still maintain he is far from it,” Zor-El muttered.

But Alura ignored him. “Or that he would, at least, treat you respectfully. We've been visiting more often these last few months to ensure you would be cared for after.”

“Is that why you left us alone so often?” Kara frowned at them, her anger fading into a cold numbness.

“You are the best judge of character,” Alura didn’t agree or disagree with her guess. “If you could form even a friendship with him, then he was not as bad as we feared he’d be.”

“And if he WAS?” Her parents were silent, answer enough that she would have been trapped either way regardless. “Amazing,” she scoffed at that, the numbness giving way to a horrible feeling of betrayal. “I can’t believe you two!”

“Kara, we are so sorry,” Alura seemed about to step towards her but thought better of it, her voice begging. “We never meant for this to happen.”

“But it was either this or the planet exploded,” Zor-El told her, his tone telling her there was absolutely NO doubt about the fate of Krypton had the mineral not been bartered.

Kara felt the breath leave her at that statement. She had thought they were talking about the core just…dying, or a shift to the planet that would have made living there impossible. She had no idea that the planet could have actually come that close to exploding all those years ago…

…and suddenly Kal’s nightmares made sense to her. He must have overheard his parents talking about it when he was a child and it stuck with him.

But it was hard to consider her planet’s possible fate when the planet was still there and her people were safe, their futures secure…while hers had changed before her eyes.

“I can’t be around you right now,” she muttered, turning and rushing from the room, not able to bear being around her parents a moment longer.

She couldn’t believe them! How DARE they just…just marry her off to a Daxamite!? How dare they think they could control her life like that!? She had a say, didn’t she? This wasn’t Daxam, this was Krypton, she had a choice in this matter. She was an adult now and if she didn’t want to marry someone, she didn’t have to. Her parents couldn’t control her like that. She could refuse! She could just refuse and then they would have to find another way to…

…to get the mineral that was likely the ONLY reason her planet was still alive, why her people were still alive.

Kara slumped against her door as she slammed it shut, sliding down to the floor as the reality of the situation cut through her anger. If she didn’t do this, if she didn’t uphold the agreement her parents made…there was a very REAL chance Daxam would withhold the mineral and Krypton’s core would just destabilize again and explode. SHE could be the reason her entire planet was destroyed, why all her people died.

She wouldn’t put it past the King and Queen to withdraw their help and lock the mineral away if she broke their precious contract. And she knew in her heart she would never be able to forgive herself if something like that happened. She did not want to have the weight of her entire planet resting on her shoulders.

She let her head thump back against the door as she stare up at her ceiling, her entire room feeling too small now. She felt trapped, like every goal and choice she’d ever had in her entire life was for nothing, because this end was always coming for her. And the worst part was that her parents had known, for YEARS, they had known she was going to be wed to someone on another planet and hadn’t thought to tell her or discourage any of her dreams and plans for her life. They probably wanted her to have as normal of a life as she could, but it just made her feel worse. They knew and they kept letting her plan, as though every plan and hope she had wasn’t going to be torn to shreds and hindered. 

Her mind drifted briefly to Daxam. She knew that was their system, preselecting a mate for their children and forcing them to marry. She had to wonder why the children allowed such a thing and didn’t fight back for the hope of finding love…before the reminder of the drugs kicked in. The drugs probably kept them from caring so long as they could find pleasure somewhere in the mess of it all.

She felt so torn apart and twisted up about all of this she couldn’t imagine what Mon-El would feel when he realized…

Kara nearly fell over where she was sitting as that hit her. 

Mon-El.

The Prince of Daxam.

She was to wed the Prince...and the Prince was Mon-El...she was to wed _Mon-El_.

She felt dizzy at the prospect, not sure how she really felt about it. Her emotions were such a jumbled mess over him and how they’d left things and now to add the idea of marriage into it?!

…he’d sent her away.

That thought kept repeating in her mind. He’d asked her to stay away, because he didn’t want to risk falling in love with her when he knew he was destined for a latch-mate…so…did he not know?

…and how would he feel when he found out?

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

She should have expected it, really, to find Mon-El in the Royal Family’s observatory, looking up at the ceiling as it reflected a passing comet. The observatory didn’t operate with mirrors and telescopes but instead relied on satellite footage beamed directly to panels in the ceiling. And right now there was the bluest of comets flying over them.

Dar-Blaine had caught her in passing, apparently having gone to the council meetings when they were called in the hope of catching her. Mon-El, he’d mentioned, had refused to go near the chamber during the last one for fear she’d be there. He had made it quite clear he was NOT approving of Mon-El avoiding her or having asked her to stay away. She’d heard him grumble the entire way to the observatory about how he ought to teach Mon-El a lesson and something about the man needing to let himself be open to things…

Honestly she had tuned him out, her heart racing too much to leave her feeling calm enough to engage with anyone. She wanted to see Mon-El, that was what she was focused on. 

She had spent the last day going over everything she knew and avoiding her parents at the same time, hardly speaking to them on the way over. She hadn’t even let the Queen insult her by refusing her entrance to the council, instead grabbing Dar-Blaine’s arm and walking off with him without even a greeting to the King or Queen, let her parents handle THAT one. 

All she had said was “Take me to Mon-El” and they were off.

Dar had had to leave her at the entrance, prohibited from entering, but he’d assured her SHE was still welcome in there as per Mon-El’s last intended visit.

Kara reached up to touch the necklace she still wore, her gaze drawn up to the blue hue taking over the room. “Comets.”

Mon-El spun around quickly, seeming about to order whoever had disturbed him out, when he caught sight of her. “Kara?” he breathed, sounding like he wasn’t sure she was there or if he was dreaming.

She got the feeling it was both. He looked so…exhausted. There were bags under his eyes that she knew she reflected as well from sleepless nights worrying for him and reeling from her heart ache. He was paler, though it could have been the comet’s glow, his hair was unruly and looked as though he’d run his hand through it too many times. He just seemed…weighed down in a way she wasn’t used to.

She could hear it in his voice though, the clarity, the raw emotion when he saw her that he hadn’t touched a chemical since she’d last seen him. 

“Mon-El,” she greeted in return.

He shook his head, a frown growing on his face. “What are you doing here? I can’t…”

“Do you know who you’re being latched to?” She got right to the point, done wasting time, done with all the torment she was feeling at being in the same room as him but still so far away from him. She wanted answers, she wanted to know where he stood, and she wanted to know where they could possibly go from there.

Mon-El seemed confused by her direction of question, but answered nonetheless. “No. And honestly I don’t want to know. I’m fully prepared to just march up there the day of and hope for the best.”

Kara inhaled sharply at that, at how resigned he sounded, how…unhappy. She felt a momentary sting of hurt from that, from the admission he didn’t want anything to do with his latch-mate to the point he’d rather go in blind. But she reminded herself he didn’t know, he wouldn’t have said that to her if he had.

“I think you should start preparing for it.”

“Why?” he scoffed. “It won’t make a difference, Kara. I told you, I…”

“It WILL make a difference,” Kara insisted. “Because I’M your latch-mate.”

Mon-El stared at her for so long she would have feared he hadn’t heard her had it not been for the entirely shocked expression on his face, how he began to impersonate a fish, gaping at her, opening his mouth and closing it repeatedly like he couldn’t wrap his head around what she’d said.

“What?”

Kara nodded, at least he wasn’t calling her a liar or telling her she was insane. She’d had nightmares about reactions like that, him laughing in her face at the idea that SHE could be the one selected for him.

“My parents just told me before we came,” she explained. “They arranged it years ago. Krypton’s core was unstable and Daxam mines a mineral that helps stabilize it. They agreed to marry me to you three months after I reached majority in exchange for the mineral.”

“Why?” he shook his head at that, and she almost felt hurt at how it sounded like he was asking why he would have to marry her, before he continued. “My parents don’t do _anything_ out of the goodness of their hearts. What could they possibly gain through that? What could be worth them marrying their son to a Kryptonian?”

The way he said it let her know he was speaking more of his parents’ prejudices than his own. “My parents feel they wish to lord it over us for all eternity that they saved Krypton when we couldn’t save ourselves.”

Mon-El didn’t even have to consider that. “That sounds like them.”

Kara eyed him a moment. “…you really didn’t know?”

“I had no idea.”

Kara was silent, observing him, watching the different emotions play out across his face, too many for her to place. “Does this change anything?”

“What do you mean?” he looked at her.

“You said you didn’t want to like me, because of your latch-mate. But…if I AM your latch-mate…is it alright to like me now? Would I be your…your mate or your latch-mate?”

Mon-El thought about his answer, not wanting to say anything that could hurt her, but not wanting to lie in the sense that he genuinely wasn’t sure. “I…I don’t know how I feel,” he warned her. “I’ve spent so many years resenting the system and the idea of my latch-mate. I never would have ever thought it’d be you.”

“That makes two of us.”

This time it was Mon-El’s turn to observe her. “How do YOU feel about it?”

Kara could only shrug helplessly. “I wasn’t expecting marriage. I wasn’t expecting you,” she offered. “I’m not sure I’m ready to be…latched?” she looked at him for the word, he nodded.

“It doesn’t look like we have that much time,” he murmured. “You said three months after your Name Day?” That was getting dangerously close as in barely a week away if he remembered correctly.

Kara nodded. “I know.” She hesitated a moment. “But I do know…if it had to be any Daxamite, I’m…I’m glad it's you. I would rather be latched to someone I can respect and…and someone I care for, and who cares for and respects me, than anyone else.”

He smiled at that, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that the one person he could see himself considering as a mate…was the one he was actually going to have as a latch-mate. It just seemed…unreal to him. His luck was NEVER that good, the gods were never that kind to him, his parents were never that giving.

He wracked his mind to try and think of anything he could have possibly done to deserve a gift like that. To have someone he did respect and care for be the person that he was to be latched to. Even if it was sudden and even if they barely knew each other…there was some sort of warmth in him, an inner peace, that told him…it really wouldn’t be as bad as he’d always feared it would be.

Because all those times he’d pictured a random Daxamite woman…and Kara was the farthest thing from that to be found.

Perhaps it would mean all his thoughts on the future would be as far from what he feared they’d be as well.

He felt something stir in his chest, an emotion he was coming to realize was far more dangerous than love. 

Hope.

“I don’t know how I feel about everything else,” he told her as he tentatively stepped closer to her, encouraged by how she started to smile the nearer he got to her. “But I do know that…I do like YOU, Kara Zor-El. I know that I dream about your eyes every night. And that I haven’t stopped thinking about kissing you since that first one.”

Kara’s smile was warm and inviting as he stepped into her space, an action that sent her heart racing. “That makes two of us,” she repeated.

Mon-El smiled at that, leaning in at her implication, and pressing his lips to hers.

If this was what his future consisted of, being able to kiss Kara whenever he wanted…he didn’t think he’d have THAT much a problem with it.

And he would do everything in his power to ensure Kara didn’t either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the fluff returns! :-D But if you thought this was a sweet moment...just wait till next chapter ;-D
> 
> Let's just say...Kal is a VERY smart little boy ;-D
> 
> I honestly don't know if it would have been possible to save Krypton or if any planet could mine a mineral like in this story, or how Krypton would even get it to the core in the first place. But it IS technically a dream world so, in that context, I feel like it could be possible in that setting ;-)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the little twist to the latching, it's Kara! :-D (which also, being a dream world, could explain why someone like Rhea would agree to her son marrying a Kryptonian, but there's also a darker reason why she agreed). All those trips where her parents were whisked away it was to hash out the finer details of the "betrothal" between her and Mon-El ;-) I'm really excited for the next few chapters :-D


	8. A Future in Sight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mentioned at the end of chapter 3 how many chapters (if I stuck to plan) there would be of the dream world so I wanted to give an update that I've managed to stick to plan lol :-) After this chapter there are about 2 more of the dream world. By this time next week, in chapter 10, we'll be back in the real world ;-)

Mon-El was thrown. He couldn’t help but stare at himself in the mirror of his room, dressed in a crisp grey suit traditional of the Royal Family. He didn’t know what to do with himself honestly.

The day had come. It was three months since Kara’s Name Day. Today was his latching day. He had been on edge since Kara’s last visit, when she revealed she was his intended latch-mate because he hadn’t seen her since. He understood, it was too close to the actual date for his parents to invite her or her parents back to the planet, not while they were making preparations for the ceremony. But he was on edge because he’d…missed her. He’d WANTED to see her, wanted her there…and he hadn’t been able to. 

And now, the next time he was going to see her was before the priest of the gods as they swore their vows to each other. 

He didn’t know how to feel about it all. For so long he’d been sure that he would resent this day, that he would resent his latch-mate. But he didn’t feel it. Because it was _Kara_ and resentment was the farthest thing from what he felt for her. He really didn’t know how to identify what he felt at the moment. He was buzzing and he felt nauseous and energized and scared and eager and he couldn’t even make sense of all the other emotions.

Any other time he would have resorted to the chemicals, to drink, to make him feel calmer but…he found himself not wanting to. It had begun as a promise to Kara, not to take Antiendo. And he had kept that promise. But somehow, even in the weeks between that moment and when he’d seen her again, it had grown. It had grown into a refusal to use any of the chemicals, to refuse the spiked drinks. He was sure Dar would have been thrilled with the change in him had it not been the result of something that caused him the very pain the chemicals were meant to dull. 

Now though? Now that he was to latch with Kara? He felt like he didn’t need any drugs to feel good. Kara was…it was ironic that he felt like she was a drug to him, the best he’d ever encountered. It was a fitting description. The more he was around her, the more he wanted her. Being away from her was like withdrawals of the more powerful chemicals. He was drunk on her smile, her laugh, her beauty. She was truly his own personal drug.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when there was a knock on the door, making him frown. He doubted very much it was his mother or father come to offer advice or words of wisdom, but no one else would really bother him as the ceremony was not to begin yet and he didn’t need to take his place.

“Enter!” he called, and Dar-Blaine peeked his head in. “Something wrong?”

Dar seemed more amused than concerned. “Um…there’s a small Kryptonian boy out here demanding he be allowed to speak to the prince.”

For a moment Mon-El was confused by the entire sentence, before his mind caught up to him. The only Kryptonians allowed on the planet were Kara’s family…and she’d mentioned she had a younger cousin, a boy.

“Is his name Kal?” he called back.

Dar disappeared a moment and poked back in. “Yes.”

Mon-El shook his head. “Allow him in.”

Dar gave him a mocking salute and disappeared once more, a small boy dressed in the traditional Kryptonian white with a large House of El glyph on his chest entered. 

“I take it you’re Kal?” Mon-El smiled at the boy. “Kara’s cousin.”

Kal seemed surprised by that. “You know who I am?”

“I do indeed. Kara speaks about you often.”

Kal snorted, rolling his eyes. “I doubt she talks about me as much as she talks about you.”

Mon-El fought off a grin. “She talks about me?”

“ALL the time,” Kal huffed as though it pained him to even think about it. “It’s annoying.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

Kal eyed him. “You don’t sound sorry at all.”

“You caught me. I’m very, very pleased to hear it.”

“Why?”

“Because I think Dar is likely just as irritated with how often I talk about Kara.”

“Oh, he is!” Dar shouted through the door, making Mon-El chuckle.

“Are you REALLY the prince?” Kal asked him after a moment.

“I am. Mon-El of Daxam. At your service.”

“Ok, good.” Kal nodded, taking a deep breath and setting his face to as serious an expression as a child could have.

Mon-El felt oddly intimidated by the whole thing.

“I need to talk to you before you marry my cousin,” Kal stated.

“Which is perfect.” Mon-El nodded along. “As I was hoping to speak to you as well.”

“What did YOU need to talk to ME about?” Kal seemed thrown by that.

Mon-El moved onto one knee before the boy, wanting to be on eye-level with him. “Daxam is quite lax in our courtship traditions. However, I know Krypton is not. I wanted to ask your blessing that I latc…marry Kara.”

Kal blinked a few times. “You’re asking ME?” he pointed to himself.

Mon-El nodded. “I understand the Kryptonian tradition is to ask the blessing of the eldest male relative close to the one being courted. As her father has already agreed to this long ago, I felt it pertinent to ask you.”

“Wouldn’t my father be the one you should ask?”

“Perhaps,” Mon-El agreed. “But I think you are closer to your cousin than he is. She has a very high regard for you.”

“Isn’t it a little late to ask me that since you’re marrying her in less than an hour?” Kal gave him a look.

“This is your first time to Daxam,” Mon-El pointed out. “And something like this ought to be done in person, don’t you think?”

Kal seemed to think on what Mon-El was saying before he eyed the prince again. “My cousin loves you.”

Mon-El blinked this time. “And how do you know that?”

“Because she’s always happy just to visit you and she gets a look in her eyes when she talks about you, the same way mother looks at father, and Aunt Alura looks at Uncle Zor,” Kal explained in a simplicity only a child could muster. “And if you want my blessing, you better not hurt her…which is what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“I would never,” Mon-El promised. “I swear to Rao,” he added, knowing how important that god was to the Kryptonians. “And to all the gods of my planet, hurting Kara is the LAST thing I would ever want to do.”

“Because you love her too?”

Mon-El was silent a moment. “I don’t know,” he chose to be honest. “But I do know that I’ve never felt the way I do about Kara for anyone else in my life.”

“Do you smile a lot around her?”

Mon-El wasn’t sure where Kal was going with that, but nodded regardless.

“And do you want to protect her?”

“Yes.”

“Do you hate to see her sad and just want her to smile?”

“Of course.”

“Do you care about her? Do you want to make her laugh? Do you want to hold her when she cries? Do you want to protect her from everything and make sure she’s happy?”

“All of that, yes.”

“Do you want to be around her all the time?”

“ALL the time.”

Kal rolled his eyes. “Then you love her.”

Mon-El got the impression “idiot” was supposed to follow those four words but Kal was too polite to do so.

“And I’m glad,” Kal continued. “I want Kara to be happy.”

Mon-El began to nod slightly. “And you think I can do that?”

“You already do that,” Kal informed him seriously. “She smiles a lot when she thinks of you. And she’s really happy, like…dopey smile, fluttery stomach happy.”

“How do you know that?”

“She told me.”

“Ah,” Mon-El nodded.

“And if I want her to stay happy, I suppose I HAVE to give you my blessing,” Kal added. “Not that you need it. Kara doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to do and you better not make her!” Kal pointed a warning finger at him.

“Between you and me, I don’t think anyone could tell Kara what to do or not do. But I promise I never will.”

“Good.” Kal observed him before cracking a small smile. “I like you.”

“I’m glad,” Mon-El chuckled. “I like you too.”

Kal nodded, rocking back on his feet. “Once you marry my cousin, can I see the Garata Dragons?”

Mon-El just laughed.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Kara was pacing back and forth in the room the Kind and Queen had…graciously…given to her and her family to prepare for the ceremony, never more thankful that her mother and her aunt Lara were there with her for this day. When she had arrived and the Queen had led them to the room, she had been greeted by the most revealing red dress she had ever seen in her life. It was probably tame by Daxamite standards, she could admit that now, but compared to what she had grown up wearing on Krypton, it was FAR too revealing. 

The Queen had said that the dress was customary and traditional for a Daxamite bride…delivered in a way that only the Queen could manage by making it both a lesson to Kara and a threat that if she chose not to wear it, it would be seen as her turning her nose up at Daxam and be an insult to their people. She was quite sure, had it been just her and the Queen, she would have given in from sheer intimidation.

However she’d had her mother and aunt beside her and both women had risen to the challenge by stating that this was a ceremony to be held with a Kryptonian bride and therefore tradition for the bride’s attire should follow the bride. Her mother, having had ample time to learn the Queen’s methods, had even gone so far as to bring up that the people might consider it an insult of itself to have a Kryptonian wear their traditional garb.

The Queen had given in, though Kara wasn’t sure if it was just out of sheer apathy for her or that the time for the ceremony was approaching and she was required to be at the King’s side as they began the celebration.

Whatever reason it was, she was more than relieved she could wear her own clothing to her wedding...though she did have one distinctly Daxamite token around her neck that she refused to part with.

…a tiny part of her though was curious to what Mon-El’s reaction would have been if she HAD worn the red dress…but…if she was going to be living on Daxam, there would be ample opportunity for her to attempt Daxamite fashion if she so chose to.

That had seemed like the biggest obstacle since she’d arrived, there was really nothing else she had to do except wait till the ceremony began. From the…very generic instructions the Queen had given her in a crash course to Daxamite Latchings, she literally just had to do that. She walked up an aisle to Mon-El, the priest of the gods would chant some words, and she would repeat the vows Mon-El made to her. That was all.

The Queen HAD made a comment about being irritated the priest would be conducting the ceremony. According to her it was far quicker if she or her husband were to lead it, less formal, done faster, less dragged out. But with this being a rather large deal to the planets, they had been forced to go the more traditional route.

Kara, for the first time, agreed with the Queen. She was so nervous she would have rather it been over quickly than drawn out. She was sure that the longer she stood there with Mon-El, the worse his people would think of her, the more time they would have to judge her. 

She really wanted to see Mon-El right now. He had this way of reassuring her even when she didn’t realize she needed it. She had said some hurtful and insulting things around him and instantly felt guilty for having done it, but he would reassure her before she could even express her sorrow for it. She knew he’d take one look at her and take her in his arms and promise her the ceremony would be fine and that his people would come to accept her.

But she couldn’t. She was forbidden to see Mon-El till the ceremony. Apparently a few Latchings in the past had been between very hostile parties and a Latch-Mate or two had actually attempted (and succeeded) to murder their intended before the ceremony. For the Prince’s safety she was refused access to him.

A knock on the door sounded and all three women in the room turned, tense and curious as the ceremony was still a little off from then. Only for the door to open and Kal to walk in.

“Kal!” Kara called, frowning at her cousin. “What are you doing here?”

“Am I not supposed to see you?” Kal frowned. “Father said that was only for the prince…”

“It is not that, son,” Lara moved to his side, checking him over. “You were not to leave your father’s side.”

Kal rolled his eyes. “Father and Uncle Zor were boring so I went to find the prince.”

“You saw Mon-El?” Kara gaped at him.

Kal shrugged. “He seems nice.” He moved over to his cousin, looking at her in her Kryptonian gown. “You look nice.”

“Thank you, Kal,” Kara smiled tensely. “But you actually met Mon-El? He talked to you?”

Kal nodded. “You don’t have to be nervous,” he told her, able to see how tense she was even as she tried to hide it. “He was nervous too. But also happy.”

Kara blinked at that, a small smile growing on her face at his words. “Really?”

“He loves you, Kara.”

Kara breathed out a short breath at that, her mind racing to how he’d told her not even a week ago that he wasn’t sure what he felt for her but that he liked her. “And how do you know that?”

“Because he wasn’t sure so I helped him figure it out.”

“How?”

“I asked him questions,” Kal responded with a tone that implied Kara was being stupid for an adult again. “Like you told me: the best way to find an answer is to ask a question. And I asked him A LOT of questions.”

Kara felt her heart race in her chest, she could just imagine what Kal had asked him…but that didn’t concern her much, what was really pulling her attention away was what Kal had discovered from his questions, the answer she had been looking for.

“He loves me?”

“A lot,” Kal told her. “Probably as much as you love him.”

“I…I’m not sure I…”

Kal reached out and took her hand, cutting her off. “I don’t want to ask you all those questions, Kara. There are A LOT of them," he reminded her. "And I know your answers. You love him. And he loves you.”

Kara couldn’t even look at her mother or aunt’s faces, knowing they were likely stunned that such a thing had happened, that a LOVE had actually grown between her and a Daxamite, instead she dropped to her knees and pulled her cousin into a tight hug.

“You’re crushing me, Kara!”

“Deal with it,” Kara laughed as she hugged him tighter, pulling back a minute later to smile at him. “Thank you, Kal.”

“I just want you to be happy,” he told her. “And I know the prince makes you really happy.”

“He does.” Kara let out a little laugh again, trying to keep from crying and ruining the makeup her mother had forced on her.

They looked up again when the doors opened and the Queen appeared. “It is time.”

Kara took a breath and slowly rose to her feet, walking towards the woman with a smile on her face not even Rhea could wipe off with any comment she could ever come up with. 

She was about to marry Mon-El, the man she loved, a man who loved her.

And no matter what came next…she knew they would be able to handle it together.

There was nothing stopping them.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Mon-El couldn’t tear his eyes away from Kara even if he wanted to, not when he saw her at the end of the aisle, walking towards him in a gorgeous white gown with the necklace he'd given her contrasting against the starkness of it. There was an actual smile on her face. A pleased smile, an eager one, a…a loving one.

“Breathe,” Dar hissed from next to him, where he stood as his second.

Mon-El inhaled deeply, his gaze still trained on her, their eyes locked the nearer she came. And it was like…the closer she moved the more of her he saw, the more he ONLY saw her. The entire planet faded away as he stared into her eyes, his people, his parents, even the priest wheezing beside him, all disappeared. He felt himself smile when she came close enough for him to reach out and take her hand in his, leading her up the small steps to stand before the priest of the gods, his parents standing behind the man, their faces set in a political happiness.

But he didn’t care. He didn’t care if his parents plan backfired. He knew, as much as they had agreed to this to spite Krypton and humiliate its people and lord it over their heads for eternity…his parents were also conniving and selfish. This was meant to be a punishment for him, a humiliation that his latch-mate would be Kryptonian, they wanted to show him THEY had the power over his life and his future by doing this. They thought it would force him into the arms of a Daxamite woman, to seek an affair and use him to hurt Kara. It wasn't just about him, it was about her too. It was meant to be a way to torment and torture a Kryptonian as much as they wanted without her planet able to do a thing about it. They wanted to make her life miserable with her powerless to stop it. To force a Kryptonian into a “marriage” where they knew she would never take up an affair but stay loyal to her husband, while her husband sought pleasure in others. That they could humiliate her and ridicule her and tear her down at every step, to show their people how the mighty could fall.

Their plans had failed and would continue to fail and he couldn’t wait for them to realize that.

He LOVED her. He could feel it in him now that Kal’s words made it clearer. He loved her, with everything he had, and he would honor her and remain faithful to her, he would devote himself to her and adore her and do everything in his power to protect her from the harsh brutality of his people and their traditions. 

He would make his world better for her, he swore it to himself and to the gods watching down on them now.

His parents would NEVER be able to break her, because he would not let them.

Now he just had to make that clear to his people as well.

“We come here today,” the priest intoned, his hands lifted skyward and Mon-El realized he’d missed quite a few minutes of the man’s speech and the prayers to the gods in his thoughts. “Under the eyes of the gods, to seal a bond of marriage between our Prince, Mon-El of Daxam. And Kara Zor-el, of Krypton.”

Mon-El’s jaw tensed as he heard a…less than positive reaction from the people gathered all around the citadel of the palace. Latchings, especially royal ones, were a public event, everyone and anyone that could find space would crowd around to witness it.

“Though there are many stars in our celestial kingdom, only one will lead you down the correct path. Each of you have found your star.”

Mon-El glanced at Kara for that, a small sly smile on his face as she began to smile back when he mouthed ‘comets’ to her.

“And so, in my authority as the High Priest of the Gods of the Daxamite Empire, it is my duty and my honor to seal this bond. My Lord Prince, please recite the sacred vow.”

Mon-El fought as hard as he could to keep his face serious and the smirk off of it as he turned to Kara, taking her other hand. This was on him now. His words to her would be the ones she repeated to him.

He knew _exactly_ what his parents expected him to say, how his people expected it to go.

If only they had gotten to know _Mon-El_ instead of "their prince" as well as Kara had, they would have known not to expect him to prove them right.

“Under the eyes of Rao and the Gods of Old,” he began, already startling his parents by including Rao in his vows. “I, Mon-El, Prince of Daxam, take you, Kara Zor-El, Daughter of Krypton…as my MATE.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're so close to the end of the dream! By July 10th we'll be back in the real world! I am so excited for their waking up moment you have no idea :-D
> 
> Next chapter though, I'm also excited for that. Kara will come to some revelations about herself and Mon-El and the future they now have in sight ;-)
> 
> Also, apologies for the delays between updating History and Betrayal, this week just ended up being a little crazier than I expected, but I hope to get History up later today :-)


	9. Wedded Bliss

Kara was beaming as she sat at the main table reserved for her and Mon-El at the feast the Daxamites were throwing after they’d said their vows and the priest declared them latched. Mon-El was down on the space reserved for dancing...trying to teach Kal one of the simpler dances. Poor Mon-El…Kal was terrible at dancing and it was amusing her to no end to see him still TRY to teach her cousin. And it warmed her heart that he cared enough about the cousin he’d just met to do that for her, because Kal was important to her.

“I have GOT to say you’ve done a number on Mon,” came Dar-Blaine’s voice as he plopped down on the chair Mon-El had vacated.

Kara blinked quickly, startled, and looked at him. “What?”

Dar nodded. “In all the time I’ve known him, I NEVER expected to ever hear the words “mate” come out of his mouth, without a “latch” before it. You certainly managed to sink your claws in deep.”

“I did no such thing!” she cried, offended at his choice of words.

“THEY seem to think differently.”

Kara followed the small nod he gave to a group of women at the edge of the dancing space, all quite beautiful, all rather scantily clad, and all of them giving her stares that clearly wished death upon her.

“They’ve been glaring daggers at me all night,” Kara murmured as she lifted the goblet of watered-down wine Mon-El had procured for her, taking a sip. “Did I somehow offend the planet during the ceremony? More than just my being a Kryptonian?”

She had been startled that the ceremony had involved the two of them as little as it had. The priest had talked for ages, she and Mon-El had spoken barely a sentence to each other, and then the priest went on and on again. She hadn’t even gotten to kiss him!

Which, she’d found out later when Mon-El apologized, somewhat familiar with Kryptonian traditions as he’d wanted to know what she might expect or not expect from Daxamite ones, for the lack of kiss, was not part of Daxamite customs. Apparently latchings, as they were typically done between prearranged individuals, did not include a kiss. At most, the latch-mates could barely stand to hold each other’s hands, forget about a kiss.

He’d promised to make it up to her later though.

“No, no, you were fine,” Dar reassured her. “It wasn’t so much you as what Mon did.”

Kara set her goblet down, turning to face him now, serious. “What did he do?”

“He called you his mate,” Dar said, as though it should be explanation enough.

“Those were the vows though…”

“Not always.” He shook his head. “When Mon went first, you just followed his lead. But the traditional line is to use the term “latch-mate.””

“…did it invalidate our marriage or something?” She frowned, but Dar-Blaine shook his head. “I don’t understand why it makes a difference.”

“Because,” Dar sighed though he gave her a small smile. “By him declaring you his MATE, he’s taken himself off the table. Usually, by Daxam custom, once a pair has become LATCH-mates, they don’t have to do anything with each other. The Birthing Matrix takes care of a child. Both tend to seek their pleasure elsewhere if they find themselves incompatible or uninterested. A MATE though?” He let out a low whistle. “That’s swearing loyalty, fidelity, and monogamy. Mon-El will take no other in his bed but you, to the end of his days. Those harpies over there,” he nodded at the gaggle of women. “Were all hoping to be his mistress.”

Kara blinked at that information. “He…that’s what he did?”

“Mhmm.”

“Did he know that…that he…”

“Did he realize he was swearing that?” Dar helped her out. “Yes. Look.” He reached out to put a hand on her arm, pulling her attention to him as he grew more serious than she’d ever seen him. “Mon has had other partners. You know it, I know it. Half the universe has heard about his partying and gossiped regularly about who would be in his bed on any given night. But since he’s met you, Kara? It’s like he’s a different person. You gave him something I don’t think he ever even hoped for.”

“What?” Her voice was weak and breathy at his words, touched.

“Love,” he answered. “You saved him from a life without it. There hasn’t been a match in the royal family based on love in…” He let out a long breath just at the thought of it. “Too many generations, if ever. You opened him up to that and, who knows, maybe you’ll open the planet up to it as well. Maybe this grifing latching system will finally fade away as it should have ages ago.”

Kara gave a small chuckle at how passionate he’d gotten near the end. “You really don’t like the concept of latching.”

“I don’t like the concept of something so sacred being reduced to mere alliances,” Dar defended. “Love is too great a force to be dulled with drugs or hindered by prearranged marriages. Love is unstoppable. It’s meant to be embraced and strengthened. It’s a lesson to be learned and maybe more will learn it now that Mon has.”

They both looked over to where Mon-El was wincing as Kal seemed to turn the wrong way and stomped on his foot, but he bore his pained grimace behind a smile for the sake of not upsetting the boy.

“You know,” Dar continued after a moment. “I'm both surprised and unsurprised Mon needed a child to help him realize he loved you."

Kara gaped at him. "You knew he..."

"Loved you?" Dar glanced at her. "Yeah." And looked back at the crowd. "I've got a...knack...for spotting love. I realized Mon was going to fall for you after your first meeting."

"What made you think that?"

"Love, real and true love, changes you. Helps you grow, become a better person. It challenges you to change and adapt and allow someone else into your heart. It's about saving someone else and letting yourself be saved in return. I don't even think he realized it, but...he'd stopped using any of the chemicals pretty quickly after he met you." With the exception of the Pleasure Pills Mon-El had mentioned, he hadn't seen or heard about the man using any other chemicals since. He knew Mon-El had made a conscious decision after he and Kara had their little parting not to take any chemicals, but before that? Mon-El hadn't touched one on a subconscious level long before that moment. "And even before that, Daxam isn't lacking in its availability of bed-mates." He nodded at the harpies still glaring at her. "Mon hasn't taken anyone to his bed since he met you."

Kara let out a breath at that. She had hoped Mon-El hadn't been using many chemicals, had gotten that impression off him when he'd wanted to use the Antiendo. She had chalked it up to what he'd said at the feast, that he never knew when she was coming and didn't want to risk being in a haze of drugs should anything happen to her. But to hear Dar-Blaine say it was more than that? That her affect on Mon-El had gone farther than just weaning him off chemicals?

She wouldn't lie and say she wasn't the smallest bit upset to think of all the partners he'd had in the past. She understood it was his culture and they hadn't met. She was comforted slightly by the thought of him being in the Well of Stars and likely watched by tutors and not allowed bed-mates there. But part of her was saddened that she wouldn't be his first like he would be hers. Another part of her was...a little nervous that she was so inexperienced and would prove to be a lacking lover to him. Despite what Dar-Blaine said about Mon-El swearing her as a mate...if she was that poor in bed, would he change his mind?

She shook her head, her heart telling her he wouldn't. Because he had known her longer than he knew she'd be his intended latch-mate. He had developed feelings for her without ever thinking he'd get to be with her in that way. He loved HER, not the sex she could provide him with. And that was a reassurance that it would all be alright in the end. She was a quick study after all, and with Mon-El's experience he could guide her through it at the very least. They would be fine. And she could feel content to know that the women (and men, if his comments were to be taken to heart) he'd had were all in the past. SHE was going to be the only one in his future, and that was enough.

She should have been upset, a small voice in the back of her mind whispered, that Mon-El had changed the vows and tied them together as mates without even consulting her about it first. But that voice truly was so small. Because there was so much more in what he'd done that she could never be mad at him for. He wanted to be her mate, he wanted her and only her. Kryptonians did not partake in affairs the way Daxamites did, she would have stayed loyal to him to the end of her life even if it meant being alone for the rest of it. But Mon-El was swearing the same importance to his spouse that Kryptonians assigned to HER. Was it truly a BAD thing that her husband was swearing faithfulness to her alone? Not at all. Being mates or latch-mates made no difference in her mind, he was (in the Daxamite terms) going to be her mate and her only mate. She was more relieved he had chosen her in return, that he loved her enough to declare that to his entire planet. She had no doubts his parents would be furious with him, she could see their displeasure written across their faces when no one was looking. She doubted they would say anything that night, not with so many people around to witness it, but when the time came for them to lash out at Mon-El, SHE would be by his side, supporting him and facing them down with him. He wasn't alone anymore to face their judgment and she swore he'd never be alone again. He was going to face quite a bit of backlash from all sides, she could tell, but he was worth defending and standing beside. Behind the mask he wore around his people was a good man and she could see him ready to become that man and show the world who he really was, to grow past that mask.

He had changed, for her, because of her, if Dar-Blaine spoke the truth, which she had no reason to doubt. She could see that change in him.

And it made her smile to wonder...had she changed yet? And if not, how would loving Mon-El and having his love change her going forward? She was actually...excited to find out. She had changed him for the better and she knew in her heart he would do the same to her. Already she was more patient and accepting, less biased and prejudiced through knowing him. She was no longer the arrogant Kryptonian she'd been, she could see her faults and she looked forward to seeing how she changed to be better with Mon-El at her side.

Kara Zor-El was gone, and in her place stood Kara, Princess of Daxam, and she was actually excited to see who she would be.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

For an entire celebration and party dedicated to two people latching…there was really so little that actually came from the latched-couple. Kara hadn’t been sure what she was expecting, though she felt now that she should have anticipated how the rest of the party would go when she hadn’t even gotten to kiss her husband at their ceremony. The party had kicked off…but there was barely anything actually aimed at her and Mon-El. It felt more like people were just celebrating for the sake of partying and drinking than actually celebrating her and Mon-El. There had been no speeches given, no dance with her mate, nearly no other traditions except that they were allowed to leave the party early.

People had seemed surprised they’d actually left together. 

Which she supposed made sense if most latching were prearranged and the wedded pair wanted little to do with each other. They’d just grab another partner and each disappear separately.

She was relieved Mon-El had just taken her hand, led her to her family to say their goodbyes with her parents promising to visit within a week to check on her treatment there, and led her away from the party as it began to remind her too much of the last feast with their drunken revelries.

She smiled more as Mon-el wound his arm through hers, leading her off like a proper gentleman. Even if she hadn’t danced with him or gotten to kiss him, it was still worth it to be his official mate and wife.

“I hope the ceremony wasn’t too tedious?” Mon-El spoke quietly, the halls of the palace empty for the celebration.

“It was lovely,” she reassured him. Her smiled grew wider as she remembered he’d proclaimed her as his MATE instead of latch-mate. She wondered if he realized she knew what he’d done yet.

“I’m glad,” he murmured, leading her up to a door.

She frowned when she saw it. It was as lavish and ornate as the others she’d seen but…even having only glimpsed it, she knew it wasn’t the door to HIS room.

“I should…I should let you get some rest,” he said, opening the door to show her a lovely room that seemed to have been attempted to be altered to fit more a Kryptonian style. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” She clutched his arm tighter as he moved to step away, giving him a firm look.

“I just…I thought you must be tired,” he explained, seeming confused by her reaction, scratching his cheek.

“We just got latched,” Kara pointed out, and gestured to the bedroom.

“Oh!” Mon-El’s eyes widened as he caught up to her line of thought. “I um…we don’t have to,” he told her. “Traditionally latch-mates don’t have to consummate their marriage.”

“Uh huh,” she nodded along with that, before stepping closer to him, hearing something in his voice. “And what is the tradition for MATES,” she emphasized.

Mon-El blinked, catching the knowing look on her face and realized she knew. Somehow she KNEW what he’d done and what they were now before he could tell her himself. 

…he was going to kill Dar. 

“Uh,” he swallowed hard as she stepped closer to him, her eyes even more blue the nearer she got. Why was it always so hard to think when she looked at him like that? “Traditionally…mates do,” he agreed, before hurrying to add, “But I would NEVER force you to…”

His words were cut off when Kara pushed up on her toes and pressed her lips to his, winding her arms around his neck as his hands quickly settled on her hips. He felt himself moving as Kara began walking backwards, into the room, kicking the door shut behind them as she turned, now somewhat pushing him backwards while she walked forwards.

He had no idea what was going on until he’d fallen backwards, onto the bed, with Kara actually on top of him, holding his arms down beside his head in a light pressure.

“Well,” he blinked. “This is a pleasant turn of events.”

Kara laughed at that, but he could see her face was flushed a deep red, could hear a note of embarrassment and self-consciousness in her laugh. She was just as nervous as he was about where this could go…but she was trying to make an effort to do what, he supposed she imagined, a Daxamite woman would do.

He could feel his blood rush away from his head at the thought of Kara doing _anything_ a Daxamite woman would to him.

…he would let her in less than a heartbeat.

…he was probably even prepared to beg for it if he had to.

But right now, she was nervous and...excited. He could see it in her eyes, there was some spark there that hadn’t been there before. He doubted she had ever done anything like this, ever kissed a man the way she had him, ever pushed him onto a bed or straddled him like she was now. He knew that sensation he could see flashing across her face, that liberating feeling of doing something YOU wanted and not because anyone else wanted you to do it. The freedom that came with doing something for yourself without others there to judge you, to finally do something you’ve longed to do…

His heart raced at the realization that she trusted him not to judge her for her actions now.

Kara smiled down at him. “I’ve been thinking about this most of the feast,” she admitted to him.

“Have you?” he began to grin smugly, shifting just a little under her, already feeling himself reacting to their positions.

She nodded. “Ever since Dar-Blaine pointed out your vying mistresses.”

And she had. Ever since the man made her aware of the women who had lost their spots warming his bed instead of her ALL she had been able to think about was what they’d do later, in that bed, her and him. It had been torture to sit through the rest of the party, watching him, noticing, for the first time, the way he moved, the size of his hands and the shape of his body, the sound of his voice. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t imagined it before the ceremony too.

“Is it true?” she asked him, looking into his eyes deeply. “You’ll have no other in your bed but me?”

Mon-El tilted his head as he looked at her intently, wanting to touch her face so badly but not wanting to risk her getting spooked by him pulling his arm out of her light hold. “Yes,” he breathed, his voice going hoarse at the gaze she had fixed on him.

Gods, her eyes were doing things to him.

“I would never want anyone but you,” he swore.

“Good.” She nodded, though the motion made her body move on top of him. She blinked as she watched his eyes fall closed, his body shudder under her at the movement…and slowly began to replicate it, moving slowly against him.

“Careful,” he warned, his eyes opening and stealing her breath away at the dangerous, possessive, desirous look in them directed at her. “I might think you’re going Daxamite on me.”

“Well, I AM their princess now,” she reasoned, leaning down more, changing the angle of her movements to brush her lips against his. “I should embrace some of their culture. Shouldn’t I?”

“Yes,” Mon-El groaned, struggling to breathe at her ministrations. For someone so inexperienced, she seemed to know what she was doing…which left him wondering just how often she imagined this, because he knew he’d dreamed of it constantly. “Yes, you most certainly should.”

Kara bit her lip as she felt his heart pounding against her chest, feeling…invigorated in a way she never had before, feeling powerful and in control. She…she liked this, she realized. She liked that she could make him feel as good as he clearly was considering she had no idea what she was doing. But her dreams had been insightful. And she liked this…teasing they were doing, in more ways than one. She liked that she was making him react to her touch, the way he had when he’d given her the brief lesson on seduction. She liked that SHE had the power to do this to him.

She liked it VERY much.

“It’s your fault, really,” she continued to tease, tilting her head to the side to press a kiss to his cheek.

“And how’s that?”

She smirked against the line of his jaw where she’d placed another kiss at how tense and breathy his voice had sounded. “You’ve rubbed off on me.”

He let out a small chuckle, inhaling sharply when she moved lower to kiss his neck. “I think you’re the one rubbing off on me now.”

The giggle she made against his neck nearly undid him.

“You need to stop now,” he turned his head to look at her, their noses brushing as she moved her head up more to stare into his eyes. “Or you’ll get more than you bargained for.”

She shook her head lightly. “No. Not more,” she told him. “All of. I...I want to experience this with you, Mon-El, all of it.” She reached out to touch his cheek, seeing his gaze growing more intent and lustful the longer she spoke. “I want to feel you, I want you to show me how much you want me…”

He let out a nearly painful groan. “I do want you…” he told her. “But that won’t be all I show you,” he promised. “I’ll spend the night…and all the rest of my days showing you just how much I…how much I love you.”

Kara inhaled sharply at that. Hearing that Mon-El loved her from Kal was one thing, hearing MON-EL say it TO her was another thing entirely. It was...indescribable. "I love you too.”

He smiled. “Yeah?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

Mon-El leaned in and pressed the most tender, intimate kiss Kara had ever received (and he had ever given) to her lips, the two of them moving gently together, their breathing coming in soft pants from their nose…before something seemed to change in them. It was like something had turned on and the kiss slowly grew from soft and intimate to passionate and hungry.

“Show me.” Kara pulled away with a gasp, looking at him with an aching desperation, clutching at him as a fire unlike any she’d ever felt raced through her veins. “Show me how much you love me.”

Mon-El grinned in a way that should have been predatory and warning, but only served to set her heart racing. He quickly turned them both, his hands sliding out of her hold as he flipped them on the bed, making her gasp and groan sensually as he settled his weight on top of her.

“With pleasure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it seems Karamel has tied the knot! :-D And are very much on their way to legitimizing the marriage ;-D But guys, you have no idea how excited I am! The next chapter will see the end of the dream world...and a different side to both Kara and Mon-El as well ;-)
> 
> I'm sorry to have cut it off there and not delved into the wedding night, but I really am SO terrible at writing smut. It just ends up reading way awkward and way too short and I honestly don't think I could do Karamel justice in that department so it's best I leave it up to your imaginations ;-) I'm being fully serious, on a scale from bad to god awful, my smut writing rates at a "reads like an Ikea furniture assembly instruction manual" it is THAT bad lol.
> 
> I also FINALLY have a day off from work (I got promoted! :-D Yay!) so I plan to get Betrayal updated later today and try and do some prewriting for that and History as well :-)


	10. A New Daxam

_Three Years Later..._

Mon-El stood on the balcony of his chambers, staring out at the setting sun in the horizon, a smile on his face. His hands were braced on the railings and he couldn’t help but let out a relieved sigh, feeling, for the first time in his life, like a weight had been lifted off him.

“I am SO proud of you.”

His smile widened as he heard Kara’s voice behind him and he turned to face her…only to nearly choke on air when he caught sight of his beautiful mate in the doorway, leaning against it in a dress that...he could not look away from even if he wanted to.

"Oh." He nodded to himself. "It's going to be one of _those_ days then."

He swallowed hard, trying to settle his heart even though he knew it would be futile to even try. When Kara did that, when she chose to dress in a Daxamite fashion...it set his blood boiling and his heart racing and made the thoughts in his head go fuzzy. She always looked stunning in whatever she wore, and they both looked like quite the pair in their differing styles when they had to dress formally for events, different yet somehow the styles complimented each other. But there was something otherworldly about Kara when she wore the clothing of his people. And by the teasing smirk on her face every time she saw his reaction, she knew EXACTLY what it did to him.

The minx.

Time on Daxam had done her well in terms of loosening up with the rather tightly wound sensibilities of a Kryptonian. She had maintained her Kryptonian style of dress for quite a while, nearly a year, until one of the feasts came around. It was in honor of the Mother Goddess, the one Daxam believed watched over them and helped breathe life into the species they'd become. Traditionally, the Queen would wear the ceremonial attire, a reflection of the goddess, and accept gifts from the people in her name as an embodiment of the goddess. Kara had been very nervous about it, the attire was...quite Daxamite. It was a thin strapped dress with no sleeves, low cut down to her navel with only two strands tying either side together across her chest. There was no back to it and wide slits up the flowing skirt of it. She had taken on the dress, however, as a show of respect to her people and...when he had seen her in it?

He honestly couldn't remember a more pleasurable night as that one. Seeing her dressed as one of his people, seeing her glorious body adorned with Daxamite tradition? She was like a goddess come alive, HIS goddess. And he had _worshiped_ her that night, having had to hold out the entire day out of propriety and solemnity for the tradition. 

Ever since then, Kara would venture to try out different Daxamite styles. Usually when she was feeling particularly playful, when she felt he was too stressed by the pressures of being king and trying to implement the changes he wanted. Sometimes when she felt jealous or wanted to stake her claim as his mate, which typically occurred after a feast or celebration, when one of the harpies (as she'd taken to calling them) got a little too hands on with him or too inebriated to control themselves around him. Other times, she would wear it to celebrate something, on a day where she wanted him to be as happy as possible.

He knew it was the last situation this time.

She confirmed it with her next words. "I think you deserve it after all you've done."

He held out a hand to her, laughing as she let herself be pulled into his arms, winding her own around him and nuzzling his chest like she did when she was utterly content, an action that did nothing to slow his heart rate in knowing HE had managed to stir such an emotion, that she felt that safe and loved and _happy_ within his arms.

"I think my parents would be ashamed of me," he remarked, but with no negative feeling behind it. Her pride in him would forever outweigh any shame his parents could have ever felt for him.

"Good thing they're not here then."

It wasn't a bitter reply, but there was a hard note in her voice. She had never liked his parents and vice versa. In fact, he would even go so far as to say she loathed his parents most in the entire universe, especially after how they had reacted to his declaration of her as his mate during their latching. He could still remember that day vividly, how they had stormed into his chambers the day after the latching ceremony, his mother completely appalled to see them in each others' arms in Kara's bed, his father utterly disappointed in him. They had been rudely awakened by his mother's shrill voice launching all sorts of slurs at Kara, all manner of hurtful, insensitive, cruel words at HIM. He had defended Kara as best he could for having been woken so suddenly, for having his elation at their night together so quickly tainted, he'd spoken up for the sole purpose of turning her ire at HIM instead of Kara. And he had been fully prepared to take every insult and chastisement and threat from his mother the same way he always had, with a quiet acceptance.

Apparently the way he withstood his parents' onslaught had only served to infuriate Kara herself. He'd revealed too much of his past in the way he reacted to their belittlement and abuse, how he just stood there and accepted it, as though he deserved to hear it, as though what they said was true. He could see the moment Kara realized this was NORMAL for him, that this was something his parents had done all his life. And he could see the second she refused to accept that treatment.

He had NEVER seen anyone go toe-to-toe with his mother before, yelling at her and insulting her just as she had HIM before Kara had done just that. He'd never seen anyone go off on his parents BECAUSE of HIM, in defense of him, to protect him from them. Not till Kara. She had stood there, right by his side, even after he'd tried to get her to leave the room so he could take the brunt of their anger. She refused to go, she'd taken his hand and stood beside him, as his equal, as his mate, and she had taken all that his parents had to say with an iron spine and rising fury.

His mother had stormed out of the room with his father hurrying to calm her once he'd snapped himself out of his shock and merely reminded them there was NOTHING they could do now that the vows had been said before the gods AND the planet. Any action taken against Kara would be seen for what it was, the Queen and King doing it and pulling the strings, which would lessen their popularity among the people that they would DARE come between a latching observed by the gods. He had used their plan to publicly humiliate him against them, reminding them how, even if something happened to Kara, HE could take NO other latch-mate, no other spouse, due to his vows before the gods. Kara would have to be safe on Daxam and protected, even from them, or their bloodline for the throne would end with him. They had put too many resources into HIM for them to create a second heir, he'd been too much in the public eye and his latching to Kara only proved to follow tradition and seal his title as the Crowned Prince. He could ONLY have a child with Kara, as his mate, and no other offspring from him and another would be deemed legitimate by the people as a result. And with the less than accepting nature of his people in his mate being Kryptonian and any heir being half-Kryptonian, his parents couldn't force them to utilize the Birthing Matrix either as it wouldn't benefit them. The longer they held off on a child, the safer Kara would be. His parents were trapped in their own trap, one of the few victories he could ever remember gaining against them.

He had never pulled someone onto a bed as fast as he had Kara the second his parents had left his room. He had never been more attracted to another woman than he had been to see her defend him and stand up for him, stand beside him and want to protect him. He had never felt more deeply connected to another than he had when Kara had gotten THAT angry over his parents and how they treated him. Her anger, her fury, was beautiful to him, it was passionate and Kara had proven to him...she had a lot of passion.

It hadn't stopped his parents from being hostile to her though. They couldn't physically harm her, not since he'd made his vows so publicly, but they could be cruel and vicious to her in other ways. And they'd spared no expense in doing just that to her, despite his best efforts to buffer it and put himself in their line of fire instead of her. He knew Kara had appreciated his efforts, had seen them for what they were, his own way of protecting her, of wanting her safe, of caring about her as much as she did him. But he also knew, with every foul remark, Kara's respect and minimal care for the King and Queen as his parents lessened.

There was no love lost when the King and Queen perished nearly three years ago. He had told them, argued with with is parents constantly, that the Dominators were dangerous and not to be trusted. His parents had been arrogant and ignored him. Their bodies had been teleported to the council chamber as a show of power, leaving him stunned and about to be crowned king.

If it hadn't been for Kara, for her support and love and comfort and understanding, for her strength, he didn't think he would have survived even just their deaths. As terrible as they were, they were still his parents. Kara, despite being their favorite person to belittle, had understood, had told him that emotions aren't meant to be willed away, life didn't work like that. He'd tried to joke, reminding her about the drugs that existed on Daxam that were literally for that purpose. She'd just reassured him he was allowed to miss them. 

But even now, thinking back to them, to the changes he'd made since becoming king, he knew that they would be so disappointed and angry with him. It hurt to feel like he was never going to be someone they were proud of, but his mate, his queen was proud of him, and that was enough. Kara's belief in him would always be enough.

"I think..." he began, pulling away slightly to look at her. "It's a sign that I've...I've done the right thing, how mad they'd be about it."

Kara gave him a soft smile. "True." He laughed at that, his chuckle cut off when she leaned up to kiss him. "I knew you could do it," she murmured against his lips.

He rested his forehead to hers, just...beaming as it all hit him. It was finally over. He'd finally, FINALLY done it.

It had taken him three years to do, but that was the beauty of the Daxamite monarchy. Once he was king, his power was absolute. Even if the people disagreed with him, they couldn't take his crown from him like they could when he'd just been Prince. And he'd done everything he'd ever hoped to do.

He had abolished slavery. He'd destroyed the caste system. There were no more noble houses, no more servants, no more slaves. With Kara's help he'd set up education centers, new legal systems, added conditions and restrictions to the drugs rampant on his planet, given everyone of every former-caste a way to improve their lives and do what they WANTED to do. He wanted to make his people happy, and a slave would never truly be happy so long as they were in chains. He had fought tooth and nail for three years to give true freedom to his people...

And now? Now it was time HE was free as well.

The monarchy was officially disbanded as of that day. This would be his last day as the titled King of Daxam.

He was thrilled!

And so was Kara apparently, for she had dawned his absolute favorite dress to see her in to celebrate.

“Did you HAVE to pick this dress?” he asked her, a playful-pained groan in his voice as he tugged at the fabric as much as he could. The blue hugged her body like a second skin, with very strategic slits and open patches to show just the right amount of skin in the most wonderful of places. 

“Well I know how much you love this one on me…” she teased.

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he threaded a hand through her hair. “You know I love it _off_ you even more. It’s…it’s a torture dress. That’s what it is. A dress created solely to torture me.”

Kara laughed heartily at that, she knew it very well. Whenever she wore it, Mon-El could barely focus on anything else. It revealed just enough skin to taunt him, but not enough for him to splay his full hand on her, which drove him mad. It hugged her so tightly it left little to the imagination of what laid beneath, but didn’t actually reveal what was beneath to him. It was the same color as her eyes, which she knew got to him in ways she’d never thought possible before.

She had never thought a lot possible before she’d latched him.

She’d never thought she’d ever wear a Daxamite outfit too. And she had been uncomfortable to even try a few out, there had just been a logical part of her mind that told her she didn’t want other people to be able to see that much of her. She didn’t want to wear clothing that would attract more attention to her. She was not one to be on display for her body like that!

But dear Rao did Mon-El change her mind and feelings about showing a little skin now and then. His reaction to her in the clothing of his people…she LOVED drawing it out of him. She loved that he could never look away from her when she wore those clothes, how his eyes roved her body and she knew he was imagining everything he could do to it, to her, but had to hold back. She loved that he couldn’t keep his hands off her when he was near enough to touch the patches of skin visible, it always made her tingle in anticipation of what would come when he could tear the dress off her (...she had lost more than one dress to just that fate). And she loved it how…possessive and protective he got over her when other people WOULD look at her. 

She had thought she’d hate their attention, and a part of her did. But a larger part of her adored the way he’d react to others looking at his mate. The flash of fire in his eyes, the lust he looked at her with. The glare he sent others. How he’d make it very clear in every touch and every movement he made around her that she was his and he was hers. Everything grew that much more possessive and she had never before thought she’d ever like the idea of being claimed by someone else. But it made her feel powerful and beautiful and desirous that he turned into that around her.

She could admit she liked taunting and teasing him, she liked making him just that bit more jealous that he’d pull her into his arms and hold her close, warn her she was on dangerous ground and then whisper in her ear what he’d do to her when they were alone.

She felt herself growing warm just thinking about it. She never would have thought she had it in her to be so bold either, to be the one to take charge every so often in the bedroom. She never thought she’d ever… _crave_ someone the way she did Mon-El either. After their first night together, where he had made good on his promise of taking the entire night to shower every inch of her with love, she had found something awakened within her, something undeniably changed. She _wanted him_ , and with that feeling came the realization she could have him. 

She could kiss him whenever she wanted. She could touch him whenever she wanted wherever she wanted. She could whisper certain words in his ear and get him to leave his paperwork (before she’d even gotten to the good parts) to take her to bed.

She felt loved, with him, she felt powerful and free to be herself.

And she liked to think her clothing reflected it. She still wore her Kryptonian styled outfits most of the time, but she hadn’t been lying to say she wanted to learn the Daxamite ways…and she had learned quite a lot about her mate in the process.

“Well then, mate,” she whispered in his ear. “Take me to bed.”

She squealed as Mon-El scooped her into his arms, causing her to laugh as he jokingly ran to the bed and threw the both of them onto it. She laughed even more when he started to tickle her, using the patches of skin against her till she was begging him to stop.

He laughed as he flopped down beside her, letting her catch her breath before he turned on his side to gaze at her. “I would love nothing more than to claim you as mine, Kara," before adding with a wink, "As many times as you want…”

Kara shook her head fondly at his words. It had ended up being a teasing joke between them. One time a short while after their latching, she had brought up what he’d mentioned ages ago, how HE was the one to wear his partners out. She had felt bold and dared him to wear her out, challenged him to it. 

It had been the best and worst decision of her life. 

Their activities had been sensual and powerful and planet-shattering, and numerous. She could admit, with no shame, that she had begged him a time or two for more. In the end, she had been left well sated and exhausted, truly worn out but well loved. And he had been a smug bastard ever since that he HAD worn her out, even if he had fallen asleep a short while after her he still maintained he’d worn her out first. He kept teasing her with that whenever she was in a particularly playful mood, that he would do whatever she wished to her as many times as she wanted in reference to that time where she’d begged him for more and been worn out.

“But?” she turned on her side to face him, hearing something more in his words.

He reached out to touch her face. “This is our last day as the King and Queen,” he reminded her.

“Is there some sort of ceremony we need to go to?” She shook her head, not sure what else there could be that would halt him from taking her again and again and…she flushed, trying to push those pleasurable thoughts out of her mind to focus on him, he sounded serious.

“I…honestly don’t know,” he admitted. “There was never a time in Daxam’s history that the royal family ever considered disbanding the monarchy.”

“Then what is it, zhor?” she asked, reaching out to touch his cheek.

He reached out to press his hand to hers, leaning his cheek into her hold, always touched when she called him “heart” in Kryptonian as she just had. “Come tomorrow, we won’t be the Rulers of Daxam. We…we won’t NEED an heir.”

Kara inhaled deeply at that, understanding where he was going. They had talked about the possibility of a child between them when he’d been crowned King. And they had both agreed not to create a child at that time. He had so much planned, so many things to change and he didn’t know how his people would react to it. So far a majority, which were the former servants, slaves, and lower caste, were overjoyed and supportive. The former upper caste had fought him every step as much as they could when it came to opposing the King. But he had been so paranoid and scared for HER safety, for the safety of any child they might have that it would be used against him or used to break him.

She had fought against him at first, especially when he'd assigned Dar-Blaine as her personal guard, claiming she didn’t need one. But she hadn’t fully understood Daxam then. It had taken Mon-El being stabbed in the leg protecting her and nearly dying when the wound became infected that had finally gotten her to give in and accept his protections. He had been right to worry and to hold off on a child no matter how much she had wanted to be a mother.

So they had waited, till the changes were in place, till it was safe…and now it was.

“I…I want to have a child with you, Kara.”

Kara smiled at him, happy tears filling her eyes as she touched his face with both her hands, leaning in to kiss him. “You have no idea how much I want that.”

Mon-El smiled. “There’s…there’s something else I want to ask. And you can say no,” he added quickly. “I will never force you to…”

She cut him off, much like their first night together, by pressing her lips to his. “I know,” she whispered against them. “Tell me.”

He took a breath, looking into her eyes as his thumb stroked her cheek. “I don’t want to use the Birthing Matrix.”

Kara blinked at that. She had told him once, a long time ago, when they had gone to Krypton for Kal’s Name Day, the boy overjoyed and a little prideful that an actual KING was coming to his celebration, that her cousin had been unique to her people, born from her Aunt Lara and not the Birthing Matrix. He had asked her how she’d felt about it. She’d admitted it was something she did think about and consider, having seen her aunt grow round with child, knowing it meant Kal growing bigger and stronger inside of her, being able to feel his little kicks…

And now he was asking her…no, he was giving her the choice to experience it herself. She knew his people exclusively used the Birthing Matrix, like Krypton did. But…he’d created a new world for her.

He’d created a New Daxam.

And maybe on this New Daxam, the old traditions could fade away and new ones could take their place. Slavery had disappeared. More and more unions between mates were on the rise now that people were becoming of equal classes. Perhaps next would be the elimination of the Birthing Matrix.

Perhaps it would be up to them to lead by example as they had been all this time.

“I don’t either,” she admitted, beaming at him.

“Really?” he sounded so excited Kara had to laugh.

“Really.”

He leaned in and kissed her passionately. “We should start, right now.”

Kara laughed at that, kissing him again, pulling away just to look at him smiling at her, the man who had given her everything she’d ever wanted and more that she hadn’t known she needed.

“I love you,” she told him. “You’ve made me SO happy.”

“I can’t even describe how happy you’ve made me,” he countered. “I love you, Kara, with everything I have.”

They leaned in, about to kiss once more…when the room began to shake.

“What…” Mon-El leapt up, looking around for the source, rushing to the window to look outside, but seeing nothing amiss.

“Mon-El!” Kara struggled to follow him up as the shaking grew more violent, sending her to the floor.

He ran to her side, pulling her into his arms. “I’ve got you,” he whispered to her.

Suddenly a bright light shown outside their windows, growing brighter and brighter, nearly blinding them. For one terrifying moment, Kara feared that Krypton had exploded as her parents feared, that it was debris raining down on Daxam from it...but it couldn't be. The mineral had been steadily sent to Krypton for years now, the core was just about completely stable, it COULDN'T be...so what was it?

They both cried out as a high pitched whine began to sound around them, making them wince and rush to cover their ears but neither wanting to let go of the others. 

“Don’t let go,” Kara cried as she clutched at him, the shaking getting violent now, nearly throwing them apart.

Mon-El reached out and touched her face, holding her close, leaning her cheek to look at him. “Never,” he promised, leaning down to kiss her as the light encompassed the room…

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Kara gasped as she jolted awake to find herself lying on a stark white bed in a cold and sterile room, her mind in shambles as she raced to work out what was going on. There were people there, a woman with short brown hair shouting at her, another man with dark skin, hurrying to her side, and she was wearing an odd pink dress. But…but this wasn’t right. This wasn’t…it was BLUE...she had JUST been…

She tried to sit up as another thought hit her: this wasn’t Krypton, she could tell just from a cursory glimpse, nor was it Daxam…

Daxam!

“Mon-El!” she shouted, frantically ripping wires that were attached to her off of her, her hands shaking so badly she could barely grip them. “Where…”

“Kara, calm down,” the brown-haired woman was saying, reaching for her.

But in her addled state, Kara pushed her hands away, scrambling off the bed, her legs shaking, her heart racing with an aching need, her mind fixated on just one thing, finding Mon-El. 

“Where is he?!” she demanded, glaring at the two people before her, struggling to think how the woman knew her name. “What have you done to him?!”

“Who?" the dark-skinned man spoke. “Kara, we haven’t done anything. We found you unconscious…”

But Kara was shaking her head, that wasn’t like Mon-El. He would NEVER leave her side, he would never leave her unconscious anywhere alone. Had…had something happened? Something HAD to have happened to him. That was the ONLY explanation.

“Mon-El!” she began shouting, rushing for the door, only for the brown-haired woman to grab her.

“Kara, stop!”

“Let go of me!” she shoved the woman away, startled for only a moment at how…strong her shove appeared to be as the woman went stumbling back into the arms of the dark-skinned man. “Mon-El!” She ran out of the room, only to stop when red lights on the wall began to flash and an alarm sounded. She cried out in pain as she put her hands to her ears, the ringing alarm echoing too loudly in her head. Why was it so loud?!

“What’s happened?” the brown-haired woman demanded as she ran out, moving to Kara’s side to put a hand on her back and one on her arm in comfort and support.

Kara couldn't help but be confused at the action, sure that, if her head didn't feel like it was being split apart by the noise inside of it, she'd have jerked herself away from the unfamiliar touch.

“The other one attacked a guard, he’s trying to escape!” came the report from somewhere, another person in the hall.

Kara pushed away from the woman holding her, willing herself to ignore the loud noise. She’d heard the words. There was someone else there, a man, they were holding him and he had set off the alarms. Something insider her just KNEW it HAD to be Mon-El. It HAD to be. If it wasn’t…

She ran down the hall, ignoring the calls behind her, following the mass of people that were rushing in one direction, praying to Rao that it would lead to him…

And just as she rushed into a room, she saw him jump from an upper balcony and land on the floor she was on. He seemed spooked and on edge, a desperation and anger and fear laced in every move he made. The way he looked around, the frantic motion, she knew in her heart he was looking for her as well.

“Mon-El!” she shouted a moment before she dove for him.

He turned, having only a split second to see her coming before he caught her, winding his arms around her so tightly it should have hurt but she merely returned the favor, throwing her arms around his shoulders and pressing herself to his bare chest. “Kara!” he breathed, relief palpable in his voice. “Thank the gods.” His hand came to her hair, guiding her head back to look at her. “You’re ok.”

She nodded, her eyes filled with tears as she smiled at him, overjoyed to see him unharmed before she reached out with both hands to trap his face between them and pull him to her, kissing him desperately.

On the balcony above them, unseen by the DEO agents swarming the lower level, the Music Meister stood, smiling down at them, mentally patting himself on the back as he watched, able to see the love between them solidify with each passing second. He chuckled to himself and stepped backwards, phasing through the wall as he went, ready to move to his next charges. Kara and Mon-El would take care of the rest, he was sure of that.

Now THAT was how an epic love story ought to begin! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm...I wonder if the dream world has replaced Kara and Mon-El's memories of the real world...or if they just need a moment or two to really wake up-wake up from the intense and prolonged dream they clearly shared? I guess we'll have to wait and see ;-)
> 
> But, speaking of what happens next, two quick notes:
> 
> 1\. So that no one is disappointed opening the next chapter, it is going to be a behind the scenes sort of chapter. I planned, originally, to have something in the beginning and ending of each chapter to hint at what was going on in the real-world with the others (Alex, J'onn, Clark, etc) while this was happening in the dreams, but it didn't flow right and just ended up being confusing. So next chapter is going to be just that, a sort of interlude of what was happening in the real world with the others, before we pick up with the aftermath of the awakening again ;-)
> 
> 2\. On a different note, I'm strongly considering writing a side-story to this (once I'm finished with all my stories) that shows sort of the "behind the scenes" moments, like a collection of their life on Daxam in the three years this chapter skipped to. Featuring the moments they allude to in this chapter and more. Would anyone be interested in that? Their lives on Daxam? It would be a while before I'd even think of posting it, but it's a definite "maybe" in my head ;-)
> 
> And kudos to the Kryptonian.Info dictionary site for providing the Kryptonian word for heart that I used in this chapter ;-) I'm not sure how that site got all their words, but according to it, "zhor" is Kryptonian for "heart" :-)


	11. While You Were Sleeping...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note to anyone reading "Betrayal" I was going to post the story on time, but, of course, because I was pretty good with updating every other day, karma, and my house lost power right as I finished writing the chapter and I lost ALL of it :'-( And with my work schedule, we may not see an update for it till tomorrow, but it WILL be up by tomorrow the latest ;-)

Alex strode through the DEO on a warpath, rushing to the main entrance just as James hurried through with Kara in his arms. Her sister was hanging there, appearing almost lifeless, dressed in a cute pink dress with her hair down, clearly having been preparing for her date with James. 

“What happened?” she demanded, hurrying to take Kara’s vitals, even though she knew, with her sister’s superskin she’d never be able to push firmly enough to get a good reading, but she could check her breathing and her eyes as she led James through the DEO towards the infirmary.

“I don’t know,” James told her, an urgent tone in his voice. “It was like I said on the phone, I showed up for our date and found her like this on the floor of her bedroom. She wouldn’t wake up.”

“This way.” Alex turned and moved into the examination room to see J’onn already there and setting up the equipment. 

“Anything?” J’onn asked.

Alex shook her head. “We need to get her hooked up and examine her. So far she seems fine, just unconscious.” She stepped back as J’onn helped James settle Kara on the bed and quickly got to work placing electrodes and other wires onto Kara’s temples and body, trying to get a reading off the equipment she had available.

The deep frown that etched itself onto her face was all James needed to know she was concerned about one of the monitors. “What is it?”

Alex let out a huff. “So far I’m not picking up anything wrong. But this one.” She tapped the monitor. “It’s picking up her brain activity.”

J’onn too frowned when he saw it. “It looks normal.”

“If she was awake, yes,” Alex agreed. “It’s not reading brain dead, thank god. But it’s showing signs that her senses are picking up things. That only happens, when someone is unconscious, during REM sleep.”

“Which means what?” James frowned.

“It’s reading like Kara’s asleep but…like she’s dreaming.” Alex squinted at the scans coming up. Kara’s neural activity for sight, smell, hearing, it was all coming up as active as if she were awake which could only mean she was dreaming at the moment.

She was asleep. Her sister was just asleep. Thank god. She’d been terrified she’d hook her up and see no activity at all, that something had come along and just…neutralized her, made her comatose. This wasn’t great news, as they didn’t know what had put her like this or how to wake her up from it, how long it would last, but at least her mind was active. That was all she was concerned about right now, that Kara was still alive in there.

“Are there any aliens that could do this?” She turned to J’onn, her mind racing to think of every species she knew that had some sort of telepathic ability.

J’onn sighed, but nodded. “A few are able to knock their opponent out in a similar manner, but I can’t think of any that would break into a “random” apartment just to do this in the middle of the day.”

“Random,” James repeated, understanding J’onn meant that no one would really know Kara Danvers was Supergirl and would attack her civilian form. “Could one of them have discovered who she is?”

“It’s possible,” J’onn agreed. “I’ll send out a team to check out the aliens that fit the bill for abilities like this and we’ll see what they say.”

Alex nodded. “I want to head that team.”

J’onn expected nothing less. “First we’ll need to…”

“Um, boss?” Winn cut in, knocking on the door. “Sorry to interrupt but…is that Kara?!” He quickly hurried in, rushing to the monitors. “What happened? Why’s she unconscious? Oh this is the worst time…”

“Agent Schott,” J’onn deadpanned. “What is it?”

“Yeah, right, um,” Winn shook his head and turned to face them. “Um, really big crisis going down.”

“What happened now?” Alex nearly glowered, her sister was incapacitated at the moment and for Winn to seek them out meant something bad was going on.

“The Venture Launch,” Winn became serious. “It’s crashing.”

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Clark stood at the foot of Kara’s bed, squinting as he examined her with his x-ray vision, but he saw nothing wrong with his cousin either. He let out a breath and shook his head at Alex as the woman slumped. It had been a stroke of luck that he’d managed to get to the Venture in time to save the people on board as the craft went down. 

For one split second he’d considered not flying to National City to help, because Kara was there and his cousin WAS Supergirl and she could handle it just like he could. But he couldn’t do it. The launch was too big a thing and they hadn’t really known where it would come down and it was a large endeavor. HE had barely managed to save it by himself, imagining Kara trying with her lesser experience? It had truly been lucky that he’d gone to help.

He’d been startled when Kara hadn’t appeared to save it, not able to think of a single reason his cousin would ignore so many lives in danger other than something had happened to her. So the second he could, he’d called Alex and been informed Kara as lying unconscious in the DEO as the reason. He’d flown there in record time to check on her and was immensely relieved to see she was alright, if unconscious.

“Do we know what happened?” He turned to Alex.

She could only let out a huff and shake her head. “James found her like this. She seems fine apart from the not waking up part.”

“The DEO is turning more into a coma ward than a monitoring facility,” J’onn grumbled in the doorway.

“What?” Clark frowned at that.

“There’s another Kryptonian,” Alex told him. “He landed in a pod last night and he’s been unconscious since then.”

Clark’s frown deepened. “He hasn’t woken up?”

“Not yet.”

“Have you run scans on him? Maybe he’s carrying some sort of Kryptonian Virus that infected Kara?”

“We did,” Alex reassured him. “As many as we could anyway. He seems fine, no signs of injury or anything that could explain his state either…”

“Oh contraire,” Winn’s voice called out as he entered the room. “I’ve been examining the data from Mystery Man’s pod and it turns out he’s been in stasis for…ooh, 35 years?”

“What?” Clark crossed his arms at that, startled.

“According to the flight recordings, his pod travelled through the Seyera Begal…”

“The Well of Stars,” Clark translated. “I read about that in the Fortress. It’s a section of space where time doesn’t move.”

“Which certainly explains his youthful appearance,” Winn joked. “I’m no expert on Kryptonians, but I do know that prolonged stasis DOES have an impact on the body. He’s probably recovering from that.”

“How long before he wakes up?” J’onn crossed his arms.

“From the rate I’m reading in his scans? I’d give it a week? Maybe two?”

“Which doesn’t help us with Kara,” Alex muttered, glancing at her sister. She looked peaceful, not in pain, which was a small reassurance.

“And which also leaves National City less protected,” J’onn agreed.

“I can stick around,” Clark offered. “Metropolis has been pretty quiet since Lex was put away. I can spare a few more days, I’m sure, to help hold down the fort till we wake up Kara. I can even check the Fortress for any information about something like this happening.”

“That’d be great,” Alex let out a relieved breath, speaking quickly before J’onn could turn down the offer. She knew the man had a grudge against Clark and vice versa, but they really needed the help right now and she would NOT let a testosterone competition jeopardize her sister.

Clark nodded and turned to head out.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Clark sighed as he sat down at Kara’s bedside. It had been…a long couple days. He’d spent his first day in National City looking up anything he could in the Fortress about what could have happened to Kara, but there was nothing. The next day he’d gone to see Cat Grant, and may have accidently blurted out that Kara wanted to be a reporter to her.

He’d just gotten flustered! The woman was very flirty and very open with her interest in him, even after he’d made it clear he and Lois were still together. He’d taken her aside to just talk to her, trying to ask around about Lena Luthor, the only person who had had a seat on the Venture yet failed to appear, the person whose seat was specifically targeted. Cat had started to ask why he was there and he’d said he was visiting his cousin, Kara, which led to the woman asking about where Kira was and then going on about how she was giving her the opportunity to determine where she wanted to work and how she “wasn’t taking it seriously” and something about an online quiz. 

He’d panicked and blurted out that Kara had told him she wanted to be a reporter. He’d really just been trying to keep Cat from firing Kara for not showing up to work or calling out sick, and he’d just said she planned to be a reporter. It had sent Cat on a tangent and had her offering him all the help she could give for his cousin. He knew she was trying to get in his good graces and ply on the brownie points, even though he reminded her, again, he was with Lois. But still, she did plan to help Kara out, to reassign her to a different division of CatCo, the reporting division. He’d brought up that he wanted to help his cousin get a taste of it first, that Kara would be tagging along with him on some interviews first. Which she’d been all too happy to allow for him. He’d reminded Alex to come up with some sort of excuse afterwards about where Kara was after those “few days” were over, to call her in sick or something.

But it had just been a mess after that. He’d gone to see Lena Luthor, who hadn’t been pleased with his questions about the Launch. Then, later that same day, someone tried to kill her. And then the next day someone tried to kill her again at her company’s renaming ceremony. He’d also had to write a report about it, which had been his entire point in investigating and interviewing her, which had gone to press overnight. 

It had bene three days he’d been in National City and Kara was still unconscious.

Alex had told him she still had brain activity, but the level of it was worrying even Alex. All Alex’s scans indicated Kara was in REM sleep, was dreaming, but REM was meant to be a cycle. The first bought was only meant to last barely 10 minutes and usually only as long as an hour the later it went. There had been NO breaks, no cycling. It was like Kara was just locked in an extended REM cycle that wasn’t ending. They had no idea what was causing it and no way to stop it. They honestly didn't even know if that was NORMAL for a Kryptonian. They'd never thought to scan him or Kara while they were just sleeping so, for all they knew, that could be the normal brain activity for a Kryptonian. Maybe they didn't experience anything but REM sleep? But they didn't know, and that just made them worry more.

“Hey cuz,” he murmured, reaching out to take Kara’s hand, squeezing it with his eyes locked on the monitors reading her. He’d hoped she’d feel his touch, as a Kryptonian, that she’d hear his voice and there might be some sort of spike…but there was nothing.

“You’re missing a lot of action,” he continued. “You’re going to be so mad when you wake up and hear about it. But you sort of need to wake up first. Alex is getting worried, well, worried-er. You know how she is. If you don’t wake up soon she’ll probably go off the walls and obsess over working out what’s wrong.”

He was tempted to do just that as well. Kryptonians needed more sustinence than humans did, what with their metabolisms and powers and the yellow sun. Kara hadn’t eaten anything in the last few days and with the only way to give her some being IV and requiring a Kryptonite needle, he and Alex refused to do so.

The scans were showing that her metabolism had slowed down significantly, exactly like in sleep or hibernation. She wasn’t burning as much as she usually would, but they were starting to get concerned about just how long she would sleep for and how long it would be before she was in danger.

“I have some good news and bad news,” he added after a moment. “Good news is I may have gotten you a promotion, or at least a different job inside CatCo. Bad news is you have a Luthor of your own living in National City. Lex’s sister, Lena. She says she wants to help, wants to change the Luthor image and make it a sign of good.” He fell silent, thinking about how similar those words were to some he’d heard in the past. “I’ve heard all that before so be careful, ok?”

His head jerked to the side, his ears picking up an emergency call going out about a fire downtown. He sighed, squeezing her hand more. “I’ve got your city covered for now, but it’s going to need Supergirl really soon. So do your best to wake up, Kara. We all miss you.”

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

J’onn huffed to himself as he stood in the DEO, his arms crossed, looking at the monitors of Kara’s monitors. He’d had the computers connected from her infirmary room to the main control center and to his office so he could keep a constant eye for any changes. So far nothing.

Things had been relatively quiet though, the last few days. Superman was around and covering for his cousin, there hadn’t been any major disasters or alien threats that required more than one superhero or a squad of DEO agents. He would consider that lucky if it weren’t for the fact that it meant he’d spent the last three days with Superman constantly about. He and Clark did not see eye to eye about a lot of things and if he had his way, Clark would be back in Metropolis just after he’d saved the Venture. But Alex had all but invited him to stay and work with them.

He couldn’t fault the woman, everyone could see she was growing increasingly worried about Kara and how the woman still had yet to wake up. It had been just about a week. Three days since they’d dealt with the threat against Lena Luthor, three days of calm where they really HADN’T needed Superman’s help. And three days of Kara still lying comatose. He wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t putting more resources towards her recovery than their mystery Kryptonian. He had landed unconscious and not simply fallen unconscious the way Kara had. There was no need to monitor him as closely and, if he were being honest, he’d rather the man not wake up till Kara had. If he proved to be dangerous, they would need all the help they could get, especially Supergirl’s.

He wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t just as concerned as Alex was about Kara’s wellbeing. That was the only reason Superman was still around, he was helping. He was taking care of the streets so they could focus more on their internal issues, namely waking up Kara. A few telepaths had been questioned, with him present to read their minds and ascertain their truth, and none had any inclination of what was going on. None of them had been responsible for Kara. Which had left them all stunned.

The next course of action was to assume she’d been drugged, but there was nothing in the scans or the blood sample Alex had been forced to take to make twice as sure, that indicated any sort of drug in her system. There was nothing in the Fortress about an event like this happening, no illness or anything that would explain Kara’s coma.

He had tried to read her mind even, hoping that, while asleep, her natural mental defenses might be lowered or at least weaker. But there was nothing. It was a steel wall.

He rubbed his forehead, feeling a deep frown etched into his brow at how worried he was. He hated feeling powerless and he hated feeling like a failure. He was the Martian Manhunter, he had become so to keep his daughters safe, to protect them from all harm. And now one of his pseudo daughters was lying unconscious and they didn’t know why.

“Sir!” an agent called out.

“What is it?” he looked up at Dana.

“We’re getting reports of a renegade Kigori in Riverside Park,” she informed him.

He sighed but nodded, reaching out to trigger the comms to Superman, if the man of steel was so set to stick around, let HIM deal with it.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Winn looked up as yet another power surge went through the DEO. He huffed, trying to focus on the tech he was piecing together, a sort of breastplate meant to keep Superman safe from Kryptonite blasts. He should be used to the surges by now, especially with how often they’d happened in the last two days. He rubbed his forehead and groaned, the way they came unannounced though didn’t help him with trying not to jump and accidently destroy his work. The power was being redirected from the DEO right to their mystery Kryptonian’s room which did little to help the tension between Superman and J’onn. When he’d first informed the Martian about where the power was redirecting, J’onn had instantly ordered the Kryptonian to be exposed to Kryptonite, to try and keep him from siphoning off the power. 

Superman had NOT reacted well to that, which just increased the animosity between the two powerful men. 

So much so that Clark had even told him that he was going to be heading back to Metropolis fairly soon, which wasn’t something he really wanted to do, not with Kara still unconscious. Clark had been handling the crime well so far, had stuck around as promised. They'd thought they hit a streak of mundane crimes and minor alien skirmishes...until a new alien threat had appeared only yesterday. It was funny how that worked. Two days ago he’d stopped a robbery, and yesterday found out what J’onn was doing to the other Kryptonian, exposing him to Kryptonite. They’d been at odds about it, which was made even worse when a new enemy appeared just hours later with a Kryptonite weapon he’d used to pummel Superman with.

Clark had made his betrayal of J’onn’s word clear. J’onn had sworn that the DEO had ALL the Kryptonite there was and had failed to mention some had been stolen recently. Clark was livid, not only because it meant this new enemy could weaken him and hurt others, but because his enemies now had a way to harm his cousin too. Rao forbid they had an inside agent who could get to Kara and expose her to Kryptonite because of this stolen section. 

He’d made it clear he was only going to stay till he’d dealt with this new enemy and then he was leaving. He would hate to leave Kara, especially with her unconscious still. He knew that Clark loved his cousin, the way Kara talked about him and he talked about Kara was clear. But he understood too. Clark had a life in Metropolis, a girlfriend, a job with responsibilities, a city to protect and National City DID have the DEO. He also didn’t trust the DEO but Alex was adamant that Kara remain with them so Clark had no ground to remove her from their custody. Despite J’onn using Kryptonite on the mystery man, they all knew he wouldn’t use it on Kara, not now.

These power surges though, they were starting to really irritate him. Alex had remarked that the mystery Kryptonian was utilizing the electricity around him to convert the energy so he could absorb it and use it to heal. Which wasn’t something Kryptonians usually could do, but perhaps it was something they would have been able to do had Clark not grown up on Earth and Kara not been exposed to the yellow sun for as many years. Maybe it was a gift they only had under a red sun and the man would slowly lose the power to convert the energy?

He didn’t know and honestly it was giving him a headache just trying to work it out. 

And if he was being even more honest, he really didn’t care about what the mystery man could or couldn’t do. He was more worried about Kara and how she STILL hadn’t woken up.

It had been 9 days now and she was still asleep. More than an entire week like this couldn’t be normal even by Kryptonian standards and it couldn’t be healthy for Kara either. He really wanted her to wake up, he just wanted his friend to be ok. But he also knew he needed to help Superman first. If Kara woke up to Clark being seriously injured because HE had failed to create a device to help protect him, she would not be happy. And an angry Kara was a scary Kara.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

James couldn’t help but frown as he walked into Kara's infirmary room to see her unmoving form on the bed, still asleep on the examination room of the DEO, still in her pink dress, looking just like he’d found her on her floor. "No change then?"

Alex looked up from where she was reading a monitor, tense and clearly on edge. He could see the bags under her eyes, the way she was standing rigid, worked up and worried for her sister. He was too. But Alex always took things that happened to Kara more to heart than any of them. To her, this was a failure as her role being big sister to protect her little sister. 

"No," Alex said shortly. "Absolutely nothing has changed. Damn it!" She turned around in a huff, her back to Kara to face James in the doorway. "And now Clark's left..."

James nodded at that. Clark had stayed as long as he could, but even a week in National City was stretching it, especially with a boss like Mr. White. He knew that from experience. He would have been there sooner, to check on Alex and Kara now that Clark had headed out, but Ms. Grant had surprised him by naming HIM the CEO of CatCo while she went on sabbatical. Which had surprised all of them, both that she was leaving in the first place, and second that she'd name him, of all people, to replace her. He hoped it was a sign that she thought he could handle it, but he honestly wasn't sure. What he wouldn't give for some of Kara's encouraging words right now.

"She's not going to be happy to wake up and find out she missed his visit," James remarked, trying to lighten the mood, even just a bit.

Alex cracked a small smile. "She'll be pissed to find out she slept through Cat leaving also." She shot him a look for that.

James rolled his eyes playfully, apparently Winn had already shared the news with her. "Yeah. And that she missed the Venture rescue?"

"Oh, and, can't forget, the deadly Kryptonite enemy."

"And our date."

Alex gave him an understanding look. "I wouldn't be surprised if she demands you go out to dinner the second she wakes up," she told him, knowing her sister would feel immensely guilty for having missed their date by nine whole days. It was nearly ten days though, it was so late at night right now, but still, she had at least an hour before it would be "going on ten days."

"I just want her to wake up," James remarked.

"Me too," Alex murmured. "I want to know what could have caused..."

A gasp sounded behind them a split second before the monitors began going crazy and they spun around to see Kara fly into a sitting position on the bed. They were so startled by her sudden awakening that they froze for a split second.

But that was all that was needed, it seemed, for Kara to get her bearings. "Mon-El!" she suddenly shouted, scrambling to rip the wires off of her, her hands actually shaking which jolted Alex into action, not sure if it was an aftereffect of her coma. "Where..."

"Kara," Alex called as she hurried over to her sister, reaching out to try and steady her. "Calm down..."

Alex nearly gasped when Kara shoved her hands away instead, nearly falling off the bed as though she wanted to get as FAR away from her as possible. It stung, and it hurt deeply, but just looking at how Kara was shaking where she stood, the frantic, wild look in her eyes, she knew something was wrong. 

“Where is he?!” Kara suddenly demanded...actually GLARING at them. "What have you done to him?!”

Alex shot James a confused look, not sure what Kara was talking about or who. Was she asking about the person that attacked her? The one who put her into the coma? She doubted it. Kara actually sounded concerned and afraid for that person more than she did angry and wanting revenge. It didn't make sense.

"Who?" James asked, shaking his head. "Kara, we haven’t done anything. We found you unconscious…”

Kara started to shake her head at them, cutting him off before she shot off for the door, calling out, "Mon-El!"

Alex quickly stepped into her sister's path, blocking her. She was in no state to go running anywhere or leave the room before they could examine her. "Kara, stop!"

This time, Alex DID gasp when Kara shoved her away with quite a bit of superstrength, sending her stumbling back right into James's arms with a shout of "Let go of me!"

She was winded for a moment, completely stunned Kara had attacked her like that. Her only consolation was Kara herself seemed startled at how powerful her push was...which just served to confuse her and James even more. She had superstrength, she always had, why did she look so surprised at how her push had had such an impact now?

Whatever surprise had hit her, it passed quickly enough and Kara was back to rushing for the door, calling out of that "Mon-El" person again. 

"You ok?" James asked her quickly, steadying Alex quickly.

Alex merely nodded and hurried for the door after Kara. "Something's wrong," she said a moment before the DEO seemed to mirror her thoughts and alarms began to blare indicating a security breach.

Kara nearly fell to her knees when they went off, her hands slapping to her ears, crying out in pain that had Alex rushing to her side to try and help her. She was deeply concerned with how Kara was handling this. She'd heard louder noises but this seemed to be affecting her even more, as though she'd never used her superhearing before. 

She looked up when she saw Dana running down the hall. "What’s happened?”

“The other one attacked a guard," Dana explained quickly, "He’s trying to escape!”

Before Alex could even react to the news, Kara had pushed out of her arms and taken off down the hall towards where the other agents were rushing.

"Kara!" both she and James shouted, rushing after her.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" James called over the alarms, clearly deeply concerned for how Kara was acting. 

Alex could only shake her head, she didn't know, but she was starting to feel very scared. The way Kara had looked at her? Looked at James? It was like she didn't know who they were anymore, and it was a terrifying concept that she didn't even want to consider could be true. They had been so concerned that Kara was unconscious, they didn't even pause to think what could be going on inside of her mind. What if she'd been forced asleep so that another telepath could enter her mind and erase it? What if it was a plan of CADMUS's to erase Supergirl's memories and get her to join their cause? She couldn't bear the thought of losing her sister like that so she forced the thought from her mind and skid to a halt as they entered the may foyer of the DEO...

Only to see Kara in the arms of their Mystery Kryptonian who was very much awake and with his arms around Kara as well.

"What the hell?" came James's breathy exclamation when Kara pulled away from the alien and, before half the DEO, pulled a complete stranger back into a KISS.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried my best to gauge how many days it had been in the show since Kara would have fallen asleep just before the Venture Launch. Based on day-to-night scenes and using clothing as an indication it seemed like about three days per episode, and with the sort of "gap" between episodes of Clark saying he wanted to stick around longer, I just went with three more days as the "gap." So it's been about 9 days, just like it was 9 chapters of the dream :-)
> 
> I feel like the DEO wouldn't assume Mon-El had anything to do with Kara and wouldn't monitor him the same way, realize he was in REM sleep as well, because, to them, he was unconscious when he landed so he couldn't have done anything to Kara and there was no reason to monitor his mind since they assumed it was the same state of unconsciousness. They would be more concerned about Kara and what was wrong with her than wasting more resources on an alien they don't feel they need to monitor that closely yet. She'd be a priority to wake first sort of thing. They also, I think, wouldn't know what to make of Kara's results because they probably didn't monitor Kara just sleeping to know what her normal night-brain activity is like. For all they know, Kryptonians only sleep in one long REM cycle so they couldn't be sure :-)
> 
> I tried to focus on a key point for each character, to try and give their thoughts and worries while also trying to set the timeline of what had happened or is happening during their scenes, to move the story along but also reveal what was going on while Kara was trapped :-)
> 
> But now they're awake! :-D I'm very excited about the next chapter :-)


	12. Awkward Awakenings

"WHAT is going on here!?" J'onn's voice rang through the room as he stormed into the main foyer, only to see Kara locked in an intimate embrace with their not-unconscious alien while his agents gathered around them, some with weapons drawn.

"I...have no idea," was the only reply Alex could give. "Kara!" she tried to shout at her sister, but the girl seemed too...caught up in the man she was nearly wrapped around. She quickly held out a hand to stop James from storming over there, recalling how Kara had shoved her away earlier, as though she hadn't recognized her.

...and that thought alarmed her and frightened her more than anything. Kara had been found unconscious, had been asleep for more than a week while she and the DEO and Superman himself had scrambled to hold the city together and find out what was wrong with her, and woke up with seemingly no recollection of anything or anyone around her. WHAT had happened to her sister?

Her gaze fell to the man pulling Kara in closer, an alien Kara had had no idea who he was only days ago and yet now she was in his clutches, kissing him with an abandon her sweet little sister would never have shown normally. Her expression hardened as she pulled out her gun, training it on the man for clearly he HAD to have had something to do with what happened to Kara. "Step away, NOW!"

"Kara!" J'onn snapped as the two ignored the order. "Back away or we will be forced to subdue you too."

Somewhere in the back of Kara's mind, there was a niggling sensation, like voices speaking. She heard them, but it was muddled, like she was hearing it through water...but the words were getting clearer, something about orders, subduing...nothing sounded very nice...

"Kara Danvers!"

Kara pulled away from Mon-El's lips with a soft gasp, her eyes fluttering open as that last attempt got through to her, triggering something inside her. Kara Danvers...yes, yes, SHE was Kara Danvers. She was on Earth, had landed there when Krypton was destroyed...

But that didn't make sense. Krypton was never destroyed. Her parents had negotiated a mineral from Daxam, she had married Mon-El to ensure the alliance...Krypton was fine...

And yet flashes flew through her mind, memories of herself in a pod, of Kal as a baby, being sent away. She could remember seeing debris heading for Daxam...

She closed her eyes tightly and rested her forehead to Mon-El's. Her head was pounding, an intense throbbing behind her eyes causing her to let out a faint moan of discomfort at the sensation which made Mon-El rub her back soothingly, wanting to ease her pain. She shook her head lightly, two conflicting memories fighting within her mind...

But as her body registered his touch, she stiffened in his arms. A single thought screamed through her, that this man was a stranger. She saw images of a pod crashing on Earth, of seeing him lying within it, of not having any idea who he was...and she should not be in his arms now, she should not have thrown herself at him or kissed him because he was a stranger to her.

But that scream was quickly silenced as a flood of memories nearly overwhelmed her. He wasn't a stranger, he was her mate, her husband. She knew his name, she knew what planet he came from, she knew his title. But, what's more, she knew his laugh, knew the little snores he made at night, knew every single one of his smiles. She knew his touch and his voice, she knew his body and his eyes. She could remember him singing to her, holding her, wiping tears away, making her laugh. She remembered him swearing his love and faithfulness before his gods and his people, before his parents. She knew him, mind, body, and soul, she KNEW him.

And she remembered seeing him jumping from the balcony, how he had looked for HER, how he called HER name. He knew her too, he had recognized her as well, he knew who she was...whatever was going on, whatever was causing the intense pain in her head, Mon-El was experiencing it too. Whatever had happened to her had happened to him, he remembered HER. That knowledge reassured her and caused her to relax in his arms once more. She was safe there, she was always safe in his arms, safe with him.

She inhaled lightly, feeling a smile coming to her face now at the feel of his comforting touch on her, so familiar and filled with such care. Whatever was going on, there was one thing she was absolutely sure of, one thing she felt with every part of her: the man before her was Mon-El of Daxam, her mate and husband. He was real and solid before her, his touch grounding her, his arms holding her close, with his breath on her ear and his nose nuzzling her hair. He knew her, he had recognized her, as she had him. Regardless of the warring images and memories in her mind, THAT fact was undoubtable and unquestionable. THAT was real, HE was real. Right now Mon-El was realer than anything else around her or pushing against her mind. She didn't care about anything else, any confusion or minute warning that should be going off inside her, she felt content and loved and safe and protected and anything that made her feel that way was good and right...

Her head twitched to the side when she heard a faint hum, like a weapon powering up and suddenly she was being turned, Mon-El was in front of her, his arms out, hiding her behind him as though to protect her, clearly having heard the hum as well. And then she noticed the black-clad agents of...of the DEO? Yes...the DEO. They were standing before her, some with weapons in hand...including the brown-haired wom...no, no her...her name was Alex. Right? Yes, Alex. Alex Danvers. She was...her sister? No, no she was an only child, she only had her cousin Kal. But...on Krypton. This wasn't...this was EARTH, she DID have a sister on Earth, didn't she?

"Mon-El," she reached out a gentle hand onto his arm, moving to his side and feeling a small, pleased smile come to her face at his expression. It was trained on the agents, fierce and protective, ready to do anything to keep her safe. 

One part of her mind whispered that she was Supergirl here, she was indestructible, they couldn't harm her and she didn't need anyone to protect her, but another part, a larger part was inwardly thrilled to see him react like that, to see his care and concern and love for her so quickly displayed. Because it reminded her that his feelings for her were still there, still as true as she felt hers were for him. It made her heart pound, the minor thought that raced through her that he would view her as a stranger as well, but he didn't, he knew her and he cared for her, he loved her enough to put himself in the path of weapons for her.

"It's alright..." She moved closer to him, just a little more in front of him, her hand trailing up his arm and along his shoulder. She tried her best to pull her gaze away from his very, very naked and very tempting chest and up to his deep-grey eyes. She let her hand trail up his neck to touch his face, guiding his head in her direction, but his gaze would not stray from the perceived threat before them. "They won't hurt us."

"They are holding weapons at us," he responded.

"They'll lower them," Kara stated. She felt something ache and rebel inside her to have to look away from him to shoot Alex a pointed look. "Won't they?"

Alex tensed, seeing...something different in Kara's eyes, in her expression, in the way she held herself and moved. It was her sister but...at the same time there was something just... _different_ about it. Even the tone she'd just used was short and pointed, almost hard as though trying to command them to stand down without saying it. She glanced at J'onn, the two of them sharing a concerned look before J'onn gave her a firm, jerking nod. So far the man hadn't shown hostile behavior outside of attacking those crowded near his room. He had not made a harmful move against Kara but instead appeared ready to protect her from them. He hadn't attacked them since Kara had stepped up...they would give him this ONE chance to prove he wouldn't make any more hostile maneuvers against them.

Slowly Alex lowered her gun, J'onn motioning for the other agents to do the same.

Instead of saying thank you, Kara merely gave them a nod and turned her entire focus back to the alien before her. "Zhor," she whispered, and his gaze snapped to her.

"Miar," he replied in kind, which made Kara smile and lean forward more, as though she were resting herself on his chest. He had to smile in return at the sight of her grin. Just as he loved it when she called him "heart" in Kryptonian, she loved it when he called her "mate" in Daxamite because she knew exactly how much that word and him being able to use it for her meant to him. "What happened?" he had to ask, though his gaze didn't waver from her eyes.

"I don't know," she admitted. "But we'll work it out. Together."

Mon-El let out a breath and leaned forward, resting his forehead to hers.

Alex glanced at J'onn a moment later, giving him a firm nod before she slowly approached the duo in the middle of the room, seeing the other alien appeared to have calmed down now. "...Kara," she still called out tentatively, not wanting to spook him.

In a move so...not-Kara...the Kryptonian turned slowly in the male alien's arms, still leaning back against him but not making any move to step away from him, resting her arms over his around her waist. She looked...so comfortable and content, like this was a move so familiar to them that it threw Alex for a loop for a moment. Because she knew for a fact Kara had not known that alien before she'd fallen unconscious and now she seemed absolutely infatuated with him.

Kara studied her for a moment, before smiling. "Alex."

"Oh thank god," Alex nearly sagged in relief when Kara recognized her. "Are you ok?"

Kara swayed a little as she leaned even more on the man behind her, turning her head to rest her cheek on his chest, the man dipping his head more to ghost his nose along her forehead, making her smile. "Never been better."

"You're sure?" Alex eyed the man a moment. 

Kara nodded, rolling her head up to look at the man holding her as he continued to gaze down at her...honestly Alex was sure she'd not seen him look away from Kara in the last two minutes. "This is Mon-El," she introduced, biting her bottom lip to fight a pleased grin. "My mate." 

Mon-El smiled warmly at the simple introduction. She could have added Prince of Daxam but he knew why she hadn't. He had never been just "the prince" to her, he had always been Mon-El. And even when he was the prince, even when he was King, it was never more important to her than the fact he was her mate. She would rather them know that fact than anything else and it set a warmth spreading through his body to hear it. Even more so to hear her use "mate" instead of "husband" as was the Kryptonian term. It just reminded him of the years she had spent on Daxam, the words she had picked up (the first time he'd heard her curse using "grife" had both shocked him and aroused him in equal parts to realize it had become a natural part of her vocabulary). She knew exactly how he viewed "mate" and, to him, it had a deeper meaning than a term like "spouse" or "husband" ever could and she used that term exclusively.

Alex seemed confused by the word though, shaking her head, wanting to ask what exactly that meant, but Kara hadn't even glanced at her, continuing her introduction.

"Mon-El, this is Alex," she introduced, giggling slightly at the man's confused expression. She must have read something on it, some question as to how he knew her, because Kara continued. "My sister."

The man looked even more confused. "You don't have a sister."

"Not on Krypton."

"We are...not on Krypton," Mon-El murmured, his frown deepening. "...nor are we on Daxam..."

Kara inhaled at that, her mind catching up to what that would mean for him. "We're on Earth."

"How? We were just on Daxam. We were just about to..."

"I'm sorry," Alex spoke gently, seeing something was equally as off with the man as it was with Kara, a doubt creeping into her that he hadn't actually had anything to do with what happened to Kara. The man looked at her. "Neither of you have been on those planets in...a very long time."

"I don't understand..."

Kara squeezed his arms, getting him to look at her once more. "It is...a long story. I don't..." she frowned, actually thinking about it now. "I actually don't think I even understand it. But I can try to explain it." She finally pulled her gaze away from him, looking past Alex to J'onn. "In private."

It wasn't a question or a request, J'onn realized, and stiffened at how...un-Kara-like that was for her to make a demand as though she expected it to be followed. Looking at them now, having followed along with their conversation, he knew something was wrong. Something was off about this entire situation but one thing was standing out clearly to him. 

The man had no idea what had happened to his planet, Daxam he'd said, Krypton's sister planet. Regardless of what he knew of Daxamites, the little he knew not adding up to anything good, Kara clearly knew where he was from and she was not at all acting like they were the sworn enemies he'd heard whispers that Kryptonians and Daxamites were. If he didn't know better...and maybe he didn't...they were more like lovers than enemies.

Still, the man had made it clear he didn't have a clue about his planet's fate. THAT was likely why Kara wanted privacy. She was going to have to tell the man who woke up on Earth that his planet had been destroyed. He would never forget the moment he realized he was the last Martian and he would never have wanted an audience for it.

So, begrudgingly, he gave Kara a small nod of approval.

Kara slid her hands along Mon-El's arms to take one of his hands, leading him through the crowd of agents who parted as she passed, and out of the room...

Only Alex appeared to notice how she hadn't even glanced over at James, who stood right in front of the agents looking lost and confused and...if she had to guess...a little suspicious and angry and rightfully so. She knew the only reason James had brought her into the DEO was because HE had been the one to find her unconscious just before their...their date.

And Kara hadn't even noticed him.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Kara was both irritated and unsurprised when she entered the DEO’s conference room with Mon-El…with Alex and J’onn following them in. Irritated because she had told them this was meant to be private, which implied it was between her and Mon-El and didn’t concern them. And unsurprised because they seemed to be nothing but concerned with her at the moment. 

She understood the situation was…odd and out of the ordinary, but she felt fine. Nothing had harmed her, she wasn’t ill or sick or anything else that should have them so worried. Confused, yes, she herself was confused, but they seemed to be highly suspicious of Mon-El. And that was putting her on edge that they trusted HER mate so little. Rationally she knew she should be more concerned about that fact, about the pull and connection she felt with him...but a large part of her felt more at peace with him there than she had in...more years than she'd like to remember. She couldn't find it in her to be on edge or upset or suspicious or wary of him or any of the emotions she was sure she should have felt to wake up as she had. It just never sprang up, all she felt when she looked at him was contentment and happiness and love...and she'd rather feel that than anything else. It was like every time even the smallest thought that "this isn't right" rose up, it was crushed under the overwhelming sense of how right it actually was, it was pushed aside by the most mundane memories of him, and it was destroyed by how he looked at her like she was the only being in the room worth paying attention to. Seeing him gazing at her, that familiar look, that achingly soft glint, even the confusion melted away at the sight of her mate looking at her just as he always had.

"Here." Kara turned, handing Mon-El a lump of black cloth she had snatched on their way to the room.

He unbundled it and tilted his head at the shirt in his hands before he glanced up at her, understanding her silent request that he don the shirt, but also wishing to tease her more. "Do they not celebrate nudity on Earth either?"

Alex looked over at her sister, fully expecting her to flush scarlet at that or sputter at the man's odd innuendo. But to her surprise, Kara merely stared at his chest with a grin that grew more mournful as Mon-El pulled the shirt on and down his chest.

"Oh certain parts do," Kara agreed. "But right now I don't want my mate on display to the female population." She couldn't help but think about a few of the female agents she'd seen clearly taking a moment, once J'onn ordered them to stand down, to appreciate the view of his chest...which part of her understood, she herself had enjoyed that view enormously, but he was HER mate and, just as on Daxam, she didn't like other people looking at her mate. She'd needed to remind them all whose mate he was and she liked to think she had quite a few times. She shook her head from those thoughts and stepped forward, resting a hand on the center of his chest, bunching the shirt in her hold and tugging it lightly, drawing Mon-El to lean in closer. "Your body is only for ME to enjoy."

Alex was almost certain SHE must be the one unconscious now, because there was no way her little sister would say something like that without it being a very trippy dream brought about by bad sushi.

But no, the man, Mon-El, was just grinning smugly, seeming very pleased with her words, and leaning in as though he were about to kiss Kara...

“If we could focus?” J’onn’s voice broke through the room, seeming to notice what the man was doing, sounding as pained and uncomfortable as Alex was feeling.

“What happ…” Alex began as they moved to sit at the chairs...only to trail off when, instead of sitting on her own seat, Kara allowed herself to be pulled into Mon-El’s arms and his lap. And she KNEW her sister was ALLOWING it to happen, because no one could make or force Supergirl to do something she didn't want to, not with her superstrength to account for. She closed her eyes tightly, willing this to be a dream, before forcing them open and shaking her head when it wasn’t. “What happened?” she managed to get out. “James found you unconscious in your loft, it’s been ten days…”

Kara’s face scrunched at that. James…James…who was…before it came to her. James, Kal’s friend. A man she had been…well, no that didn’t make sense. Why would she have wanted to date someone when she had a mate?

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the throbbing in her head getting worse as memories came to her mind. She remembered James, she remembered…pining after him, kissing him, planning a date with him…

A part of her felt ill while another felt two different types of guilt. Ill because imaging herself acting the way she had towards anyone but her mate sickened her. It made her gut twist painfully and made her shimmy back into Mon-El’s hold more, tightening her grip on the arms around her, needing to ground herself in the present, in his familiar form and comforting scent. However she had acted was in the past, a past that would have no bearing on her future.

And guilt…guilt for James and guilt for Mon-El. Her mind felt like it was splintering. She had such vivid memories of her life on Krypton, of Mon-El, falling in love with him and mating with him, latching to him. Such vivid memories that it felt like she’d betrayed him by ever having engaged with James that way. It felt like she’d cheated on her mate and that was unacceptable.

But another part of her mind told her that it had happened before she’d met Mon-El. If she didn’t hold his past relations against him, he wouldn’t hold hers against her either. And that same part of her mind told her that what had happened with Mon-El had happened, somehow, at the same time as her attempt to court James. Another part of her felt guilt for James because she could remember the end of his relationship, the gift he'd given her, his interest in her and she knew in her heart nothing would come from that for him. Her heart had been given to Mon-El and she would never want it back.

It was a mess in her mind and she was struggling to keep her memories separate, because she clearly had two very different sets of them.

“I was on Krypton,” she began, piecing together the fragments. “I was home, Krypton was alive, it survived and was thriving…thanks to a mineral my parents negotiated from Mon-El's planet, Daxam, to stabilize the planet’s core.” She looked at Mon-El as she spoke, his grey eyes anchoring her, making it easier to breathe as she was forced to admit to herself that everything she was saying...it had been a dream. She could see that now, understand it, but the way he looked at her, the emotion and the love in his eyes, THAT was real, and she knew in her heart what she felt was just as real too. “The negotiation included latching between Mon-El and I.”

“Latching?” J’onn asked, needing clarification of the word.

“Kara is my mate,” Mon-El spoke, smiling at her.

“Spouse,” Kara offered, recalling J’onn and Alex wouldn’t understand the weight of the word and title he gave her. “Three years…”

Alex’s eyes widened. “Kara…” she reached out to touch her sister’s arm, drawing her attention back to her. “Whatever it is you think happened…it wasn’t real.”

Mon-El’s grip on Kara’s waist tightened slightly. “Kara is my mate,” he repeated.

Kara nodded. “It was real.”

But Alex shook her head. “I’m sorry…but it wasn’t. It…from what it sounds you were both placed in some sort of communal dream. It didn’t actually happen.”

“I understand it was probably a dream,” Kara told her, still looking as serious as when she’d last spoken, patting Mon-El's arm around her as it tightened at hearing her agreeing with these people. “But that doesn’t mean it wasn't real.”

“Kara…”

“I remember it,” Kara stated, leaving no room for argument as she slowly pulled her arm away from Alex. “I lived it. I experienced it. And Mon-El did too.” She looked at him for confirmation, a part of her still terrified that she was just imagining his reactions, but he nodded, causing her to let out a breath of relief. He HAD lived it as well, as Alex had said, a communal dream they had both shared. But that was just it, they BOTH shared it, they both had the memories of it, they both interacted and lived within it and fell in love during it. Their minds had clearly both been there even if their bodies hadn't. “Just because it didn’t happen to you, doesn’t mean it wasn’t real for us.”

“Do you remember Krypton’s destruction?” J’onn asked, seeing they would be getting nowhere with Alex’s line of questioning. Kara and Mon-El were both convinced that the world they’d dreamed had been real. 

And he supposed real was a subjective word. Many people would say that inter-dimensional travel wasn’t real, but Kara’s acquaintance Barry had disproved that. HE knew it was real, but no one else would believe it. Just because others didn’t experience it, didn’t make HIS experience invalidated.

“Krypton wasn’t destroyed,” Mon-El stated before Kara could speak. “My planet mined a mineral…” he trailed off when Kara turned in his arms to give him a mournful look. “Kara?”

She reached out, touching his cheek lightly. “I need you to think back to your life before you met me…”

“I can’t,” he told he softly.

“Why?” she frowned, concerned that there might have been something affecting him more than her. 

SHE could remember Krypton’s destruction, the more she thought about it the more little pieces started to clear in her mind. But Mon-El didn't seem to be having that same reaction, it was like he didn't even remember his planet's destruction, IF that was when he'd escaped from it, which she was fairly certain that was when he'd left. From what she could vaguely recall, Mon-El had been unconscious when she and J'onn found him, but he was still the same age she recalled references to the Prince of Daxam being, which meant he'd been in some sort of stasis. If that was true, if he'd been unconscious during all of it...it made sense why he wasn't having the same reaction or showing symptoms of the same headache she felt. He didn't have the years worth of memories she had gathered on Earth. Her mind was struggling to piece two sets of memories together, one from her life on Earth and one from her life in the dream. If Mon-El only had the end of Daxam till now, his memories would likely blur with the dream, overriding the destruction of his planet as just...his nightmares he'd mentioned in the dream, and supplementing the dream as a continuation of his life from that point.

But if there was something else going on, something working to erase his memories before he'd met her...

“My life didn’t begin till I met you.”

Kara’s expression softened and grew so touched by his words Alex was almost afraid of what her sister would do and how she’d react to it. She did NOT need to see another show like the two had put on in front of half the DEO...a show Kara didn't seem remotely embarrassed to have taken part of now that she thought about it.

Kara, thankfully, merely leaned in and kissed him gently, pulling away to rest her forehead to his. “ _I_ need you to.”

Mon-El took a deep breath, focusing on her eyes, seeing she was serious about this. A frown started to grow on his face as…memories…flashes of…something sprang to his mind, memories that _couldn’t_ be real. They just…they couldn’t, they conflicted with what he knew in his heart had happened. 

He kept seeing rooms shaking, people crying out, meteors striking his planet just as his worst nightmares had shown him. He saw a guard grabbing him…pulling him…a Kryptonian pod…a laser blast…rising above the planet…

He looked down, blinking rapidly, his breath coming in uneven pants.

“Zhor,” Kara breathed, tilting his face up by the hand on his cheek, her expression so sympathetic that he knew in his heart…she had the same sort of memories. “What do you remember?”

“I…Daxam was attacked,” he swallowed hard, not noticing Alex and J’onn exchanging a confused and serious look, his eyes trained on Kara. “I was…there was a crash. A guard pulled me away as…as meteors hit the ground. He…there was a Kryptonian. He shot…the guard he fired and the…he…”

“Shh,” Kara soothed, nodding along with his memory, telling him she understood what happened and why he didn’t want to say it.

“He pushed me to the pod, I…I don’t remember…”

“I know,” Kara whispered, kissing him gently. “I know. I'm so sorry, zhor. When Krypton was destroyed, the debris showered onto Daxam. Some of the larger masses struck Daxam's moon, disrupting the gravitational force of the planet. Daxam is still there, but it was ravaged by solar storms. It's a wasteland now. Our homes...they're gone."

Alex and J'onn's looks of worry and concern intensified as they stared at Kara now, but she had eyes only for Mon-El.

Mon-El let out a shuddering breath at what she was saying, his mind in pieces as he struggled to understand what she was telling him. His planet was destroyed...but he had memories of becoming its king, of all the things he'd done for his people. But he also remembered the meteors, the debris, raining down on it.Did that...did that mean that he hadn't managed to do any of that for his people? Did...had his people died in...in chains? His heart clenched painfully as that thought struck him, a good majority of his planet would have died still enslaved. He...he really had been as useless as his parents always claimed he'd been then...

He shook his head fiercely to push that thought away, knowing Kara would hate to hear him thinking that way about himself...which only served to push something else Kara had said right to the forefront of his mind, causing him to look deep into her blue eyes. "I still have one home."

Kara gave him a watery smile at that, nodding in agreement of his words. "Me too."

They were each others homes now. 

“Kara.”

Kara looked back at Alex’s call, frowning deeply at how the woman was taking her attention away from Mon-El who was clearly upset and unsettled by his memories. “What?”

“That wasn’t Kryptonian,” J’onn answered instead.

Kara frowned for a moment, not sure what they were talking about…till she realized Mon-El had not been speaking English or Kryptonian, but Daxamite. She hadn’t even noticed, having grown fluent in it while she’d lived…while she somehow had lived on Daxam for years. But Alex and J’onn were not. Mon-El had slipped into his native tongue as the memories overpowered him and she had responded in kind.

“We were speaking Daxamite,” she informed them.

J’onn seemed surprised at that. “YOU speak Daxamite?” That did not match up from what he knew of Kara before she’d fallen unconscious.

“If it was a communal dream,” Alex tried to work it out. “Their minds would have needed to be linked. She could have learned it from the merging with his mind.”

Kara wanted to bite out that it was also possible she’d been taught it as a child…before she realized…she really HADN'T. When she really concentrated on her childhood memories, she could not recall a single instance of her parents tutoring her in Daxamite. 

“What did he say?” J’onn asked her.

Kara tensed at that, clearly not wanting to share such a personal and painful memory with them but…her knowledge of the DEO, as it slowly came back to her, told her she would need to for any hope of getting her mate permission to leave.

“He woke up to debris from Krypton striking the planet,” she said, trying to keep it as brief as possible so as not to upset Mon-El more. “He was fleeing when he found an abandoned Kryptonian Pod and escaped in it.”

Mon-El murmured something behind her she could now distinctly hear was Daxamite, asking her why she hadn’t told them about his guard and how he’d attacked one of her people.

She turned in his arms once more to face him, reaching out with both hands to touch his cheeks, using the pads of her thumbs to wipe the wayward tears that had escaped his eyes away. “I don’t want them to think you’re hostile,” she whispered in Daxamite. “Since you attacked the guards here.”

He smiled at her, slightly broken, but still every bit as loving as his smiles at her had always been. “It’s my job to protect YOU.”

“Not on Earth,” she countered and leaned in to press a kiss to his forehead.

“English, if you’d please,” J’onn cut into their tender moment.

“There’s nothing more to tell,” Kara sighed. 

“So you both ended up in some sort of communal dream,” Alex began, trying to summarize what they’d worked out. “Where Krypton was never destroyed because of an alliance with Daxam…that was cemented by you marrying him." Her gaze on Kara grew more concerned as she spoke. "And, to you, it’s been three years?”

“Yes.”

Alex let out a long breath as she sat back in her chair. “This is insane. HOW did you even end up there?”

“I don’t know,” Kara shrugged, and she really didn’t. 

And...oddly enough...she found she didn't really _care_ how it happened. A part of her, she knew, should be concerned and want to get to the bottom of it, incase it was some sort of nefarious plot and, at the very least, because someone had clearly gotten the jump on her and that was dangerous. But another part of her just couldn't see anything BAD about what had happened, it had led her to Mon-El after all.

Though she was curious to when it happened exactly. She remembered being at home, she remembered trying on dresses for James…Rao her skin crawled even more at the thought of trying on dresses to impress another man than Mon-El worse than when Jaol touched her. And then…she was on Krypton on her Name Day.

She felt a momentary flash of fear as another thought hit her. SHE had been at her loft when she’d been sent to the dream world…she’d been conscious before that.

Mon-El hadn’t.

Mon-El had been lying in an examination room at the DEO, completely vulnerable and helpless and…oh Rao. What if whoever had done it had had foul intentions? If they had managed to get to him IN the DEO…they could have hurt him! They could have…they could have killed him…

And she would have never known the man she loved.

“Miar,” Mon-El’s voice broke through her panicked thoughts.

She turned to face him, seeing his eyes filled with concern for her, able to read her emotions like a book, and she gave him a watery smile. “I’m just so happy you’re ok.”

He smiled and leaned in to kiss her temple. “I’m always ok when I’m with you.”

“We’ll need to get you both a full examination,” J’onn stated as he stood. “Whatever happened to you, it clearly affected your minds. We need to ensure nothing else has been altered and, if so, find a way to reverse it.”

Kara frowned. “We are not altered.”

Alex only barely bit back a snort at that. Her little sister was sitting on the lap of a man she barely knew, kissing him and essentially calling him her husband after taking innuendo in stride and laying claim to his body.

Sure, she wasn’t altered AT ALL.

“It’s protocol,” J’onn argued. “And after that, we’re going to have to set up a testing regime for him,” he nodded at Mon-El. “To assess his abilities on Earth.”

“Assess my abilities?” Mon-El seemed confused.

“Earth orbits a yellow sun,” Kara explained to him simply. “It's granted those of us born under a Red Sun, unique abilities.”

Mon-El nodded slowly, his expression serious as he looked at her. “Are these abilities a danger to you?”

“No,” Kara shook her head, unable to help smiling at that. He could have asked her how she knew, how she knew so much about the planet they were on, but he was more concerned with her well-being than working anything else out. She would have to explain to him just what she could do on Earth, what he might be able to do as well, but for now she was relieved he was taking this so well and trusting her word about it all. “Here I’m nearly indestructible.”

“Thank the gods,” he murmured, both in the knowledge that he couldn’t hurt her and also in the realization that nothing else on the planet could either.

“You may be too,” Kara pointed out.

“And that is why we need to test you,” J’onn agreed. “You may not be a danger to each other, but uncontrolled and unknown abilities can be a danger to the native species of Earth.”

“I understand,” Mon-El said diplomatically. “I will agree to your testing.”

“Good,” J’onn nodded. “Then you will remain here at the DEO…”

“No,” Kara shook her head, standing up to face J’onn head on. “Mon-El comes home with me.”

“DEO protocol…”

“He is MY mate,” Kara stated. “I don’t care what I need to do or sign or who I need to speak to. Mon-El is coming home with ME. I’ll bring him here whenever you want to do your testing, but he stays with me.” She still had so much to explain to him. How she had a home on Earth, how Alex was her sister, how she knew about Earth customs and so many other things that would confuse him due to the dream they'd shared.

J’onn stared her down for a long while before letting out a breath. “10am sharp, tomorrow morning.”

Kara nodded, watching as J’onn called Alex out of the room when he’d stepped out to talk about the testing…and felt herself be tugged back onto Mon-El’s lap, which caused her to smile as she turned to him.

“Krypton…” he began gently, trying to piece together the few things he'd learned since he'd woken up on this strange new world. “My planet didn’t save it then.”

“No,” Kara shook her head mournfully. “I…I was twelve when it exploded.”

He glanced at her up and down. “You don’t look twelve.”

She lightly slapped his chest and laughed. “No. I…I escaped in a pod as well, but got lost in the Phantom Zone for about 22 years. By the time I arrived on Earth, Kal was already an adult…”

“Kal is here?” His eyes widened, relieved to hear that. Being surrounded by these strangers, having feared for Kara's safety when he woke to find her nowhere in sight? Finding her again had been a godsend, seeing her familiar face, even if she was wearing a pink dress now instead of blue, had sent relief coursing through him that she was there. To know that young Kal had survived too was an immense relief.

She nodded. “He survived.”

"Did...do you know if..." He honestly wasn't sure he wanted to know. "Did any of my people..."

Kara's brokenhearted expression said it all even if the small shake of her head didn't. She looked so pained for him, so sad even as he nodded, trying to wrap his mind around that, to come to terms with the fact that...he might be the last Daxamite left.

He swallowed hard, shaking his head firmly just once, not wanting to think on that right now, not wanting all these...dreary thoughts in his head and tainting his joy at finding Kara once more. “I never did show him the Garata Dragons…”

If Kara knew what he was doing, which he was certain she did, she allowed him it this one time. “I’m sure he’d forgive you,” she reassured him, her voice tight and full of tears for the pain he was clearly in.

He did this when he was truly hurting but refused to take the chemicals of Daxam, for her, he would fixate and focus on something happier, put all his effort into the good memories and surround himself in things that made him happy, buried himself in what made him feel good...which was usually her. She would never refuse him anything he needed to cope or heal. She was there to bring him peace and comfort, to support him and love him and care for him, and she would. If she could make him feel better, feel less broken, she would do anything to help. He would do this till he felt like he could handle what made him feel unhappy, he wouldn't talk about it till he was ready, but he ALWAYS talked to her about it when the time came. He had learned, with the chemicals, that all it took was being in a bad place to slip up and he never wanted to let her down or break a promise to her. Talking about something before he was ready only made that pain and hurt ten times worse. He needed to be in a better place, mentally and emotionally, before he could dredge into what was hurting him. This was...going to be a massive one, she knew, the destruction of his planet, the loss of all of it, but she would NOT push him to confront that reality till he was ready. She trusted him and if he needed this time to focus on something better, she'd give him as much as he needed.

“After all," she continued. "He wanted to see me happy more than he wanted to see any dragon.”

Mon-El gave her a small smile at that remark that she’d been happy with him. “I meant it,” he told her, needing her to understand something. He was starting to understand that the life he'd had with her had likely been some sort of dream, but the way he felt was no dream nor figment of his imagination. “YOU are my mate. Whether it was a dream or not, I meant my vows to you then and I mean them now." He took one of her hands and placed it on his heart. "You are my mate, if you’ll have me. Before the eyes of whichever gods are watching, I will love you and only you to the end of my days.”

“Before the eyes of whichever gods are watching,” she vowed in return. “I will love you and only you, to the end of my days.”

He leaned in and kissed her gently, pulling away with a soft frown on his face. “How long were you on Earth before…before I woke up?”

“13 years,” she told him.

He nodded, working it out. It was enough time to clearly build a life on the planet, which he was suspecting she had given that she had a sister now and seemed to work for the organization they were inside. But something else seemed FAR more important at the moment than the confusion that was Earth, something bothering him that he COULD fix right now. “Then I’ve been quite remiss in my duties as your mate for 35 years. I have much to make up for.”

Kara could feel herself grin at the sparkle overtaking his eyes, the way he was smiling at her, teasingly, the smile that promised pleasurable things to come for her. It would not erase the pain he felt to think on his planet, but he was trying to find something good in the bad to hold onto, and she would do all she could to be that good thing, as she always tried to be. “You know…I can feel it. This body. She hasn’t been claimed yet.”

He blinked, seeming just the smallest bit startled she was going along with his teasing before he broke into a small smile at how amazing his mate was. “So you’re saying…I will be able to claim my mate for the first time…a second time?” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

She laughed and nodded. “It appears so.”

“Well,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her cheek, focusing on the feel of her body against him, the weight of her on his lap, the warmth radiating off her, using it to ground him in the moment, in the much more pleasant emotions she brought up in him. “That is the second best thing that’s come from this.”

Kara’s eyes fluttered closed as he moved to kiss her jaw. “Second best?”

He hummed against her neck as he kissed her there too. “The best…” He pulled away to look at her. “Is that you’re _real_. And not a dream of my perfect mate.”

Kara let out a shuddering breath, nodding to herself. “Alright, we need to leave, right now.” She stood up, taking his hand to pull him with her as he laughed at her flustered state…only for his laughter to fade quickly when she super-sped them out of the room, not even caring if anyone saw her fly them both to her loft.

She had been remiss in her duties to her mate as well…and she fully intended to be the one to wear him out this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Living on Daxam for three years, I think, would be bound to change anyone ;-) ;-) And being their princess? Being Mon-El's mate for those years? I really wanted to set the tone for how this story will play out. As it said in the summary, they've established and committed themselves to each other deeply, they lived out lives on Daxam with each other. That is not just going to go away, their memories aren't going to fade that easily, and their feelings are very very real. 
> 
> Because they BOTH lived those lives in the dream world, they both experienced it and felt it and were part of it. They've both changed on numerous levels than they were on the show. 
> 
> I think a lot of Music Meister's plan was also to enable Kara and Mon-El to have closure and sort out their differences before starting their destined love on Earth.
> 
> Mon-El managed to become king and make changes for his planet, he, in some way, had closure about how he'd been forced to leave them. He got to see the king he'd be, see the things he didn't agree with done away with, and had the support of someone like Kara to be himself and BE a hero to his people. Kara was able to work through her prejudices and, I think, mature in how she handles herself. She doesn't need to choose between a relationship or being Supergirl now, because she'd already HAD the relationship worked out. She is sometimes naive on the show or sometimes too innocent about things, but now she's been on Daxam and lived among them and had first hand experience with the Queen (and King)'s cruelty. She's been disillusioned and matured a lot in how she looks at the world more realistically now.
> 
> Kara and Mon-El are both changed from this and I cannot wait to explore how they handle Season Two with these changes in mind. Mon-El being more responsible and aware of a need for heroes, Kara being less uptight and innocent about how she handles certain things. The two of them just being IN LOVE the entire time and not afraid to show it and express it? CAN YOU IMAGINE!?
> 
> I'm so excited, you have no idea :-D
> 
> This chapter may have them appear just a little out of character, but keep in mind 2 things: They've both lived out at least 3 years together on Daxam, which would change anyone. And...they've also JUST woken up from that life. Once things actually settle down and they remember more of their real lives and pasts, their changes in personality may settle down as well and we'll see more of their normal personalities, but there WILL be things irrevocably changed in them, especially when it comes to being around each other. Because when it's just them, it's easy to fall back into the comfort and familiarity of their relationship ;-) 
> 
> Still, SO MANY good times ahead :-D
> 
> (Also, no idea what any Daxamite words or vocabulary would be, there sadly is no online dictionary like with Kryptonian, so I made up "miar" ;-))


	13. Learning to Knock

Kara was grinning smugger than ever, when Mon-El’s eyes began to flutter open late the next morning, the two of them lying in what was left of her utterly destroyed bed. She had woken up the same time as normal for a day at CatCo, but just…couldn’t bring herself to get up and go.

It had nothing to do with James being there and the conversation they needed to have, and everything to do with the man lying across from her. Somewhere in the middle of her dreams, her memories had merged and she’d woken up so terrified that she and Mon-El HAD been together on Daxam only for Krypton to still explode and kill his planet, for Mon-El to have sent her away in the pod and left himself to die so she could live. She couldn’t fall back asleep after that and had, instead, chosen to observe him sleeping.

She wasn’t even surprised that he hadn’t had a nightmare last night either…hence her smug grin…because SHE had worn him out this time. She’d been on Earth years longer than he had, she had absorbed FAR more of the yellow-sun energy and had stores of it whereas he hadn’t. He would call her a cheater for it, but she had immensely enjoyed wearing him out last night. And with the shock they’d both had, it hadn’t seemed right to just leave him before he’d woken.

“Morning,” she murmured, her hand lightly tracing his cheek when his eyes peeked open to look at her. 

“We destroyed your bed,” he remarked with a smug grin of his own.

“Superpowers and wooden bed don’t mix,” she teased, her mind already drifting to how quickly she could get a steel-reinforced bed. 

There had been something…thrilling…about last night as well. The more she’d been conscious, the more her memories of her life on Earth became clearer. They weren’t as vivid or intense as the memories she had of her life on Daxam with Mon-El, but she felt like she could somewhat separate the two now. Regardless of that, she remembered being Supergirl, she remembered her powers, her strength…and last night had been one of the more intense and eye-opening experiences of her life.

She realized, in the middle of it all, that what she had with Mon-El she would never have (and would never want to have) with anyone else, especially a human. She was superstrong and invulnerable. She would have to fake every interaction with a human if she wanted any sort of intimacy with them. She’d have to LET herself be moved in the bed, she’d have to hold back every quiver of her body, every reaction, she’d have to control herself every single moment of it. But with Mon-El? Last night had been invigorating in a way she had never imagined before knowing him. HE had been able to move her and touch her and it had felt normal, like all their other times together…which she knew meant he had superstrength too, she didn't have to hold back anything with him. 

What was absolutely normal and equal between them would have killed a human. 

Mon-El could hold her down or flip her over and it would feel like she was a normal girl with a normal man, it felt like it had on Daxam. And that was something she was remembering more and more, exactly how much she had to be conscious of her actions around humans. It reminded her of how she literally could not feel their touch for the most part and the more she thought about it, the more she felt a...craving rise in her, for his touch. The more her memories of her life on Earth came back to her, the more she was aware of how touch starved she was, how much she wanted and needed the gentle touch of someone else other than the brutal punches of her enemies, the only other time she could feel anything. Every "comforting" hug, every "reassuring" touch, every pat on the back from a human, from her family and friends, she had never truly FELT. Not like Mon-El's touch. She felt every single moment of his, even his most feather-light. And she wanted that, 13 years of feeling nothing and she'd never known how much she needed it. She had been so young when she'd left Krypton, and Kryptonians weren't known for being as touch-centric and physical as Daxamites were. She honestly hadn't realized how much she wanted that physical touch, any touch, so much as after last night. Landing on Earth and not being able to feel much of anything, it hadn't been so jarringly different than on Krypton. But now? Now that she had had those years of Mon-El's familiar and warm touch? Now that she FELT it in the real world as well? Rao, she honestly wasn't sure how she was going to be able to leave his side she wanted to hold onto him so badly.

And last night had been an awakening for her. Mon-El was her equal, she’d realized in the throes of their passion, and there was something about knowing her superstrength was canceled out by his own that had thrilled her and set her on the most pleasant of edges.

And now, looking at him, hearing about how they’d actually destroyed her bed, the proof of their strength…she found herself laughing about it, making him chuckle as well.

But he fell quiet a moment later, just gazing at her. 

“What?” she murmured.

He wound a lock of her hair around his finger, glancing at it, playing with it, feeling the texture of it, before his gaze flickered to her, his look so impossibly soft it sent her heart racing. “You’re real.”

She smiled at him softly, taking her hand from his face to touch the hand on her hair, squeezing it for more proof. “I am.”

“I feel like I have two sets of memories,” he confessed. “One I _know_ is real, and one that _feels_ realer than anything.”

“I know how you feel.”

He looked at her, a note of regret entering his eyes. “Kara…before I met you, when Daxam was…the day…when the debris was…”

“Shh,” she tried to soothe, seeing he was forcing himself to talk about it when she knew he wasn't ready. Which meant what he wanted to say was something truly important for him to get out to her. “I know.”

“I was…there was…” he took a breath, not ever wanting to lie to her about anything. “I had a bedmate.” He tensed, waiting her reaction.

Kara inhaled deeply at that, feeling a brief sting of pain at his words, at the idea that he'd had some other woman (or man) in his bed who wasn't her. But there was also a…a relief there, if that was the right word, because she had been equally as tormented to tell him her own confession as well. “Just before I met you, I…I might have almost begun a courtship.”

She knew it wasn’t the same thing as having a bedmate, not in the sense that he had likely engaged in some sort of sexual act with that person…but in a way, her potential courtship partner was almost worse. Because in a Kryptonian sense, she had found someone that she was interested in courting and willing to court, which translated into a much more serious concept, a potential relationship built on more than just sex, it translated into her seeking out a mate that wasn't him. As much as it hurt to think of him sharing his bed and body with someone else, she knew in this context, it wasn't as serious as her confession. On Daxam, a bedmate was just someone who did just that, shared the bed, engaged in physical pleasure, with no feelings and likely not someone that would be there more than once, a passing interest. For HER, a courtship expressed an interest in a person that had the potential to become someone far more serious, permanent, and important down the road.

Mon-El swallowed hard. “And now?”

“YOU are my mate,” she stated firmly, willing him to see that anything felt for anyone before him was gone, extinguished through her love for him. “And you?”

“I will have no other in my bed but you,” he echoed the words from so long ago.

She smiled at that, not about to hold his bedmate against him if he wasn't going to hold her courtship against her. “Good.” She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed his knuckle. "Our pasts before we met are past. I care about our future.”

“Thank the gods,” he breathed, having been so afraid that she would break their bonds because of what he’d said.

Thinking back on it now, able to remember his last day on Daxam...well, remember some of it, he honestly couldn't remember most of it, not with the drugs and drink he'd ingested the night before. But thinking of ever having had any sort of bedmate who wasn't Kara? It sickened him, it made his heart clench painfully, sent his stomach twisting and his skin crawling. Perhaps that had been one cause of his need for her last night, beyond the reassurance that she was real and loved him and was HIS MATE. He wanted to erase that memory, he wanted to remember her and only her, forget any and all partners that had come before her because none of them mattered to him like she did. Her touch, her kiss, her voice, that was the only one he wanted to see and hear and feel when he closed his eyes.

Kara leaned in and kissed him, smirking against his lips. “Just to be safe though…” She moved closer to him, making him groan when she threw a leg over his waist to settle over him. “I’m going to make sure you remember exactly why you’ll never want another in your bed again.”

Mon-El’s breath hitched at her actions, at her words. “I can’t even remember why I’d have wanted any before you…”

Kara grinned, pleased with his response to her, which always served to make her feel powerful and beautiful, and leaned down to kiss him, moving herself into a more comfortable position, slowly moving against him to get him all worked up, knowing how much he loved when she teased him…

When the door to her loft opened and Alex stormed in. “I just got a call from James that you never showed up to work and Snapper is…Holy shit!” She promptly spun around, her hands over her eyes which were burning at the sight she'd just gotten .

Kara didn’t even flush at being caught on top of Mon-El, didn't even look away from his eyes. The sheet of her bed had fallen down to her waist, her back thankfully to her sister, but it was clear they were both bare and in the middle of an intimate moment when Alex had interrupted.

“I’m busy right now, Alex.” 

“Oh my god,” Alex cringed inwardly at how breathy her little sister sounded. “Kara, what are you doing!?”

“My mate.”

Alex had _never_ blushed so deeply at anything her sister had done or said in her life as she was now.

“So if you’ll excuse us?”

Alex nearly ran for the door to the loft, mortified that she’d walked in on that and horrified by what she’d seen and deeply concerned that her sister was engaging in that sort of act with a veritable stranger...and completely shocked that Kara clearly intended to continue where they’d left off the second she was out of the room.

What the hell happened to her sister!?

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Kara was giggling and swatting at Mon-El’s hands as they made their way into the DEO a few hours later. The man found the concept of her glasses adorable, which she was quite happy about. She wouldn’t have stopped wearing them just because he didn’t like them, but it pleased her to know he thought they looked good on her. He kept teasing her by trying to take them off her though, fascinated by placing them onto her nose and watching as it gave her just the slightest difference in the air of her appearance when he did it. 

It was adorable and she loved it.

But she would really rather have his arms around her instead, at least one around her waist would be appreciated. The more she was conscious, the more her suspicions about craving his touch were confirmed. She just...needed it. She needed to feel him real and solid beside her, she needed to feel his arms around her, grounding her. She needed to feel his touch and actually FEEL it, to know she could feel it, to have that achingly familiar comfort returned after having to relive the fact that her planet and family truly were gone. She needed as much comfort as she had when she'd first landed, only this time the person she was seeking it from was a man she could actually FEEL that comfort instead of a human family who did their best and who she adored, but could not feel their touch. She just...she needed him closer to her, now more than ever.

So she leaned in and whispered just that to him, beaming when he kissed the tip of her nose and did as she asked and wound an arm around her waist. That was something she’d learned on Daxam, to be honest with him about what she wanted and how she wanted it. If she wanted him to hold her body or hold her hand, he would do it because she wanted that particular touch. Consent and clear boundaries were important on Daxam, pleasure could only be gained when both sides found it he’d said once. 

She had been afraid that her lack of touching him in return meant he wasn’t experiencing as much “pleasure” as she was in the first few months of their marriage. She’d still been timid around others, still had all her Kryptonian sensibilities drilled into her and was reluctant to give up all of them, feeling secure in holding onto them. But he’d just reassured her that seeing her happy made HIM happy in return. Slowly but surely she’d begun touching him more and more, even around others, and now she couldn’t imagine not being as free and open with her affections to him so much so that she had made it very, very clear to him that she gave him free and continued consent to kiss her whenever he wanted. He had taken advantage of that during a particularly dull meeting with a dignitary of a foreign planet that had been quite insulting to her and of a species known to be even more prudish than Kryptonians were. She'd be lying to say it hadn't led to quite a pleasurable night for the two of them once the dignitary had all but fled the council chamber from their very public displays of affection.

She rested her forehead to Mon-El’s shoulder a moment as she hid her smile in his shirt at the memory before looking up at him with an odd twinkle in her eye that she saw reflected in his. She could feel his hand warm against her side, but it wasn’t enough and she knew he felt it too. She wanted to feel his skin on hers, like the dresses on Daxam, she’d wanted to cut slits in the side of her dress in order to do just that…but there was a slight problem with that idea.

She’d spent far longer that morning going through her wardrobe to find something to wear than she ever had before, FAR longer than she had in preparation for her…date with James. It was like she just…couldn’t picture herself in her clothing anymore. 

For the first time in a while she felt comfortable and free in her own skin, and that was based in her life on Earth. For the first time she hadn’t needed clothing to cover up her feelings or try to put on a front for others, to seem more human than she was, or to keep her Supergirl persona separate from Kara Danvers. She wanted her clothing to reflect herself…but she was a NEW herself now. And her clothing didn’t reflect it at all. 

Mon-El had been there for each clothing change, had complimented all of them, his eyes had roved over her the same way for each so she knew he found her pleasing in them. But then again he’d find her pleasing to look at in a potato sack…or nothing at all…so he wasn’t the best judge for that. She just felt like her clothing was too…innocent? No…childish? No…immature? No. She couldn’t think of the word, she really couldn’t, but it was like her clothing was just too cutesy, yes, cute and not…mature. Not appealing or sensual or just…adult enough for her. They were professional, good for work, but she’d noticed so many things about her style that didn’t seem to fit with her NOW.

She owned A LOT of sweaters and pencil skirts and button ups. 

She wanted something new, something to reflect how she felt now, the person she was now. And she had next to nothing even close to that.

The dress she had on now was the closest she could find to something that felt more like HER. It was a denim, short-sleeved dress that fit her body well and fell just above her knees. It was the neckline though that made her feel more comfortable in the dress. It had the appearance of a button up top, but without buttons so it was impossible to close the top of it. She liked that. It wasn’t a deep neckline, but the fact that she couldn’t close it and, therefore, wouldn’t appear desperate or some other word for leaving so many buttons undone helped. 

It wasn’t perfect, but it was something. 

She’d have to go shopping later, both for herself and Mon-El’s own wardrobe too.

…she began to smirk, to Mon-El’s confusion, at the thought of shopping with him, showing off some more outfits for him and seeing his reaction, helping to pick out some new clothing for him, helping him change, maybe "accidently" selecting a shirt just a size or two too small for him and…

“Kara,” J’onn’s voice cut through her thoughts, pulling her out of them as they reached the circular control desk in the middle of the building.

“J’onn,” Kara greeted in return. “10am, as requested.”

J’onn nodded at that, satisfied. “Alex should be finishing setting up the equipment and then we’ll get you in first. Followed by you.” He gave Mon-El a pointed look.

“You already have my stats on file,” Kara argued lightly. “Mon-El can go first…”

She would be lying if she said she wasn’t the tiniest bit concerned for Mon-El. They'd worked out he'd been in stasis for 35 years, that had to have some sort of impact and she wanted him to have a full examination to the extent the DEO could give him now that he was awake and able to consent to them. She wanted to make sure her mate was the picture of health.

“And that’s why you need to go first,” Alex’s voice called out as she joined them, though she couldn’t seem to look Mon-El or Kara in the eye and her tense posture made it seem like she’d rather be anywhere other than standing near them.

Kara actually had to fight off a smile at Alex's reaction. She felt like, the old her would have been mortified and freaking out that Alex had walked in on her and Mon-El in such a position. Something like that had happened on Daxam, with the Queen herself, and she had been completely horrified then, she hadn't been able to look at Mon-El and had avoided him for three days before he managed to get her alone and...and ask if she wanted to break their union. She'd been so startled and shocked by his question, unsure if that was his way of telling her he regretted their latching. He'd been quick to reassure her that the LAST thing he wanted was to part from her, but she'd been avoiding him for days and he'd thought SHE regretted it. They'd had a very long talk about what happened with his mother and had taken care to lock doors when they were intimate. That way, if anyone entered, it was their own fault because they weren't meant to enter in the first place.

The new her felt that same way now with Alex. They had been in HER loft, behind HER closed and locked doors, where private things happened. Alex hadn't called ahead, hadn't knocked, hadn't given any warning when she'd just burst in unannounced, she deserved to get the eyeful she had. That was something else she'd learned on Daxam, when to be ashamed and when to embrace something. She had seen how her shame at being caught by the Queen had hurt Mon-El, hurt the two of them, and she'd vowed to work on that. With Mon-El's help, she'd grown more confident in herself, in him, in what they had, and how it was expressed. She wasn't going to jump off of Mon-El and stutter excuses to her sister who shouldn't have even been there in the first place. She was with her mate, they were being intimate in the safety of her home (their home), both of them mature and very consenting adults engaging in normal activities, she wasn't going to stop or put off doing something she wanted just because it made someone who didn't need to be there uncomfortable. Alex deserved the shock she got, maybe it would teach her to knock next time.

She loved her sister, she did. She'd never banish her from the loft or forbid her to visit, but things would need to change. Siblings always entered rooms unannounced, and she knew Alex only really burst in like she had when she was worried about her...but there was nothing to worry about. She had been home, with Mon-El. She supposed Alex, given what had happened and how she'd been found unconscious, had a reason to fear something could have happened when she didn't instantly show up to CatCo (as though she'd just leave Mon-El to wake up in a strange place?), but a simple phone call would have prevented everything. So perhaps she was enjoying Alex's discomfort a little too much, but it served Alex right.

“We have YOUR stats," Alex's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "If we’re trying to see how altered you were, we can compare yours now to the ones we have on file.”

“And we need to get you back out on the field A.S.A.P.,” J’onn added.

Kara frowned at that. “What’s going on?”

“The President is due for a visit.”

“The President is coming here?”

Mon-El looked between them, confused. “What’s a president?”

“She’s an elected official who presides over the country we’re in,” Kara explained to him. “This country is a Democratic Republic, the President is their leader.”

Mon-El nodded, understanding.

“She wants to tour the DEO while she's in National City to sign the Alien Amnesty Act,” Alex remarked, glancing at her sister, but crossing her arms and staring at Kara’s ear instead of AT her.

“And that is?” Mon-El questioned.

“It’s an executive order allowing aliens on Earth to come out of the shadows and live as full citizens,” Kara told him. “She's making history for this planet.”

“That sounds…amazing,” Mon-El agreed with the pride that Kara spoke with.

“Not in my book,” J’onn grumbled. “I think she's making a big mistake.”

“How so?” Mon-El frowned at him the same time Kara did, both of them turning their heads at once to look at him.

“Because it's been my hard experience that humans and aliens don't mix.”

“Alex is Kara’s sister,” Mon-El tried to work it out. “She is human, Kara is an alien. They mix.” And then a thought struck him and he looked at Kara with worry. “Do other humans not mix with you?”

“They do,” Kara reassured him, kissing his cheek for his concern and the slightly threatening tone he'd taken at the thought of other humans being "mean" to her.

“Because she can blend in,” J’onn argued. “Because Kara and I can look like humans. A lot of aliens can't. And people in this world don't have much tolerance for others who look different. I say that as an alien and as someone who's worn the face of a black man for 15 years.”

“Is the face of a black man relevant?” Mon-El seemed to grow more confused by the second, Earth was turning out to be a very complicated planet for being so primitive.

“On Earth, for some people, it’s a very relevant thing,” Kara told him with sadness in her voice. “Some people on Earth judge and hate those of darker skin colors.”

Mon-El nodded slowly, sensing that this was a very delicate topic and not wanting to offend.

“J'onn's right,” Alex added with a sigh that sounded more thankful that she had a reason to look at the Martian instead of her sister. “I can count the number of good aliens I know on one hand, with two fingers to spare.”

Kara frowned at that, knowing Alex was likely counting Superman, Supergirl, and J’onn in that count. She had to remind herself it was too early for Alex to know Mon-El enough to consider him a good alien, but she was just the slightest bit insulted that Alex trusted her judgment so little as to think she’d be as attached to Mon-El if he was a bad alien.

“I’m sorry,” Mon-El cut in with a shake of his head. “I’m confused. Is it the aliens who are bad or the humans?”

“What?” Alex gave him an odd look, her tone clipped and short.

“J’onn?” He looked at the man to make sure he got the name right, J’onn nodded. “Just said that humans aren’t accepting of those who look different. What do good aliens have to do with anything? Wouldn’t it be more concerning that there are bad humans who hate aliens just for being alien?”

Kara seemed to realize how he’d taken Alex’s words, that she was more of the thought that most aliens were bad ones to put energy towards taking down than put energy towards wanting to defend the good ones...or that she just thought good aliens were so rare that aliens in general weren’t worth protecting because they were likely bad.

“She means that, for those aliens who cause trouble, the act could make them more confident and dangerous,” Kara reassured him…sincerely hoping that really WAS what Alex meant and not that she really and truly thought a majority of aliens were evil and didn’t deserve citizenship.

“I assume your leader wouldn’t make such legislation if she wasn’t sure it would be for the benefit of the people she governs as a whole.” Mon-El shrugged. “I would also think she’d put provisions in for just that sort of behavior.”

Kara smiled at that, squeezing his hand as he was of the same thought as she was. “I’m glad she doesn’t think of the situation the way you two do.” She shot Alex and J’onn a look.

“Well you be sure to tell her that when you meet her,” Alex suggested, glancing at Kara briefly.

“What?” Kara blinked at her.

“She expects National City's highest-profile alien to greet her on the tarmac.”

“I…see…” Kara nodded at that slowly.

“...is it a big deal to meet her?” Mon-El asked Kara, a little unsure of why his mate was such a "high-profile alien" on that planet but assuming anyone meeting the leader of a country was meant to be something that didn't happen often.

“A very big one,” Alex answered instead, though she was giving Kara an odd look. She’d expected her sister to be FAR more excited about meeting the president. But she just seemed modestly accepting of it.

Mon-El hummed at that, before smiling at Kara. “Perhaps not as big as meeting a princess of an entire planet,” he whispered in her ear, making her giggle more from the sensation than his words.

That was exactly what had gone through her mind. She wasn’t trying to be arrogant or feel like she was more important than the president…but having experienced life as a princess of an entire planet, having lived with a veritable king and queen and married a prince…it was just a little harder to be as overwhelmed as she was sure she would have been at the thought of meeting a person who handled a single country for 4 years.

“You'll be representing this entire organization,” J’onn gave her a firm look for her giggling. “I expect you'll be professional.”

“Of course,” Kara agreed…though her attempt at seriousness was broken when Mon-El kissed her ear making her pull away from him and shoot him a warning, but happy smile. “Stop,” she laughed at him.

Mon-El leaned in and pecked her lips. “Whoever this president is, she is lucky to meet YOU, not the other way around.”

“Thank you, zhor,” she whispered, touching his cheek lightly, stroking it with her thumb.

Alex frowned as she looked between the two of them, seeing them starting to get lost in each other like they had the night before. “Come on, Kara,” she cut in, her voice firm. “We need to get your exam done.”

Kara sighed mournfully, resting her forehead to Mon-El’s chest. “Of course.”

Alex’s frown firmed when, instead of following her alone, Kara merely took Mon-El’s hand and led him off with her towards the examination rooms. She’d been hoping to get her sister alone to confront her about the hellish nightmare she’d walked in on that morning. Now it seemed like that was going to have to wait even longer.

Wonderful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I died laughing at Alex, I died. I am writing the rest of the story from beyond the grave. I literally had to stop like every few sentences because I was laughing too hard imagining if Alex HAD walked in on Kara and Mon-El like that :'-D
> 
> I feel like those years on Daxam would really help Kara feel more comfortable with affection and intimacy, to be unashamed of the fact she loves Mon-El and that love can be expressed in intimate ways :-) She's not about to do any public exhibitionism or anything, but when it's in her loft and in a private setting, if someone interrupts, she'd sooner kick them out and continue than stop because it's their own fault for entering uninvited sort of thing ;-)


	14. Normal Isn't Normal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies to anyone reading Betrayal and History, my work schedule this week ended up being long hours at awkward times which made it hard to be able to get any writing done :-( But I should be able to get History up in a few hours :-)

Putting on her supersuit had never brought up such a mix of emotions in Kara before. She felt comfortable but also out of place, powerful but also like it was ill fitting. She’d worn tighter clothing on Daxam, but there was something odd about seeing herself in her suit again. But she’d forced it out of her mind, having kissed Mon-El on the forehead before she’d had to go get changed to greet the president, promising him he was in good hands and that she’d be back as soon as possible, not wanting to leave his side. He’d just smiled so sweetly and reassured her that he was sure he was in good hands, if SHE trusted the DEO then he would too.

She really hated to leave him, she’d wanted to be there to explain every piece of equipment…and well…what if his examinations required him to take his shirt off? Why would she EVER want to miss THAT opportunity?

Still, she’d forced herself to land on the tarmac and then it had been pure instinct when an attack went off against the President, flying high and trying to find the source, taking hits and swooping down to save the President. The woman had been grateful and so nice, thankful to her for her help. 

And as one former-leader to the current-leader, she couldn’t in good conscience allow the woman to be escorted to the DEO without super-backup. After the attack against her on Daxam, after seeing Mon-El hurt because she’d refused his protection, she was not about to deny anyone extra protection especially when they didn't know who the attacker was. 

Alex had called in over the comms that she was going to head out and gather evidence, that one of the other trusted doctors would be finishing up Mon-El’s examination. And so Supergirl had helped deliver the President to the DEO, had stood behind the woman, on alert, when she’d had to make an emergency press conference about the attack and how it wouldn’t hinder her plans to go through with the Alien Amnesty Act. 

And perhaps she’d stood behind the president just a little more impatient than normal. But she’d wanted to go back to the DEO, even more now that Alex wasn’t personally going to be handling Mon-El’s examination and, as much as she trusted the other doctors there, they weren’t Alex and she wanted to be there for him if someone unfamiliar was handling him.

So it wasn’t a surprise to her when she arrived at the DEO with the President to see Alex had already returned from looking at the crime scene and was filling in J’onn. She’d managed to catch something about blast patterns being consistent with heat vision before the two of them noticed the POTUS step into the room. 

And it wasn’t a surprise to her that she kept glancing around in search of Mon-El. He should have been done with his examinations by now. The DEO didn’t have THAT many that worked on Kryptonians so it stood to reason the same machines that didn’t work for her wouldn’t work for a Daxamite. But she wouldn’t put it past Alex to order that the technicians be thorough and try anyway, which she had appreciated then but was frustrated with now. She just…she really wanted to see her mate. They’d been separated for far too long...(alright, so it was only a few hours but still!)…and she just wanted to know how it went and make sure that everything checked out ok with him.

“Welcome to the DEO, Madam President,” J’onn greeted, his voice sounding distant to Kara as her attention homed in on looking around the room and focusing her hearing on Mon-El’s heartbeat.

“I'm surprised,” the President remarked as J’onn turned to lead her down the stairs and further into the main building. “Now that your true identity is known to the world, you don't live openly as your Martian self.”

“I find looking human makes people feel more comfortable.”

“Hopefully, my Alien Amnesty Act will change that…”

Kara turned halfway, squinting as she used her x-ray vision to look through the walls when her ears picked up on the familiar beat, letting out a breath when she saw Mon-El still in the examination room, sitting on one of the tables, answering questions a tech was asking him.

She’d just taken a step in that direction, when Alex’s hand shot out and grabbed her arm, stopping her. She frowned at Alex’s hand and up at her sister who gave her a pointed and warning look with a firm nod to the President. She sighed but pulled her arm away, crossing them but making no move to leave.

“For you and everyone else from beyond the stars that have made Earth their home,” the President continued. “I know the DEO's mission is to hunt renegade aliens, but that mission is going to have to adapt.” J’onn scoffed. “You disagree, Director?”

“I do, Madam President. There are aliens out there, killers, who wouldn't understand the concept of the very rights you're offering them. Evil creatures who could take advantage of your good will.”

Kara DID hear that remark and looked to the President, curious what her response would be, thinking back to what Mon-El had mentioned, that no leader would put such an act in place without first considering the backlash and those that would take advantage of it. He’d done the same when he’d been changing Daxam…in their dream world at least…had spoken to her at length, the two of them going over every possible situation they could think of for how others might try to take advantage of his changes.

“I imagine the very same thing was once said about you, J'onn J'onzz,” the President said simply. “But someone gave you the benefit of the doubt. Isn't it time we paid that forward? I can think of no better time than the present to extend our hand in friendship.”

“Even if that hand might get bitten off?”

“One has to have hope.”

“What if it's false hope?”

“It's _hope_ , J'onn. How can it be false?”

“It can’t be,” Kara found herself answering, moving to approach the president. “I, for one, am very thankful for the Amnesty Act,” she offered. “Hope is…a powerful emotion, one that brings out the best in people, even those most would consider lost causes.”

The President tilted her head as she observed Supergirl, the woman seeming thoughtful and just a tad sad, but so full of empathy and understanding that she got the feeling the girl had some sort of experience with that.

And Kara did, she couldn’t help but think of the dream world. Her people constantly put down the Daxamites, wrote them off for so many things, SHE had done that to Mon-El at first. But getting to know him, letting him in, getting him to let her in? He’d changed, all for love of her, all because he loved her, because his love for her made him better. It was like Dar-Blaine had remarked, she had given him something he’d never hoped for and once he had that hope? He’d become a man he was proud of.

“Miar!” someone called out and the President blinked when Supergirl’s entire countenance radiated happiness as she turned on her heel.

“Zhor,” the girl of steel greeted the man dressed in black who made his way over to her, leaning in to kiss her promptly, unconcerned with the audience around them.

Kara bit her lip as they pulled away, her eyes sparkling as they gazed at the man, before she seemed to remember where she was. “Madame President, I apologize for…”

But the woman waved her off, a fond and bemused smile on her face. “I wasn’t aware Supergirl had a SuperBae, as the kids call it these days.”

Kara laughed at that, leaning back into Mon-El’s side as he wound an arm around her. “Well, with the enemies I make, it’s not something I advertise.”

“Understandable,” the President nodded, turning to Mon-El. “You are…Zhor?”

Mon-El laughed lightly. “No, no. Mon-El of Daxam,” he held out a hand to shake the woman’s, being very careful with his strength and pleased she didn’t seem pained.

“Zhor is…” Kara paused a moment to phrase it right. “It means “heart” in Kryptonian.”

“I see.” The President gave her a knowing look. “It’s a petname.”

“Pet-name?” Mon-El gave Kara a confused look.

“A term of endearment,” Kara explained. “Like how you call me "miar".”

“Ah.” He nodded.

“Miar,” the president repeated, sounding absolutely thrilled to learn a new, alien word. “May I ask what it means?”

“It is Daxamite for “mate,”” Mon-El clarified, thinking a moment to recall how Kara had described it to Alex and J'onn for it was clear that it had an entirely different meaning on Earth. “On your planet, I believe it translates to “wife?”” He gave Kara a questioning look, wanting to be sure he'd gotten it right. Her wide beam in response was answer enough.

“You’re married?” the President’s eyebrows rose in shock. Not that it was any of her business who a superhero decided to marry, but someone like Supergirl, who helped a government organization, she'd have thought something like that would be on her file.

"Not on Earth," Alex answered quickly.

But Kara had already started to say “three years” with a large grin on her face directed at Mon-El, ignoring Alex’s faint scoff behind her.

It was real, their marriage, their vows, their memories and experiences. It was real to them no matter what anyone else said or thought and that was all that mattered. And it felt good to be able to say that out loud to someone who wasn't J'onn or Alex. In a way it made it even realer. She wasn't about to go blurting it out to everyone on the planet, no matter how proud she was of her husband and their relationship, she was being honest that it wasn't something she'd blatantly advertise. She had so many enemies, the last thing she would ever want to do was put Mon-El in harm's way because of her status as Supergirl, to make him a target while he was still so new to Earth. Just thinking about one of her enemies getting a hold of him to use against her made her insides freeze and her heart hurt, and if this was even a fraction of the fear Mon-El must have lived with every day of their marriage on Daxam, a fear for her safety, she would have to apologize for every time she made it difficult for him in turning down his attempts to protect her before the incident. But this was the President. This was a woman who understood matters of national security and the need to keep secrets. 

“A girl from Krypton and a boy from Daxam,” the President nodded, understanding even more why Supergirl would never say a word about her husband. “I’ve heard of quite a few new planets during my research for the Alien Amnesty Act, but that is one I seem to have missed.”

“It's actually Krypton’s sister planet,” Kara explained. “We orbited the same star.”

The president could almost see it, the way the two were standing, gazing at each other, how they were talking about each other, it was like they orbited each other too.

“Funny,” Alex mentioned as she stepped up to join the conversation, her voice sounding just the barest hint annoyed and accusing. “You never mentioned that fact, Supergirl.”

Kara didn’t seem at all regretful for having not spoken of it as she gave a light chuckle. “The Hatfields rarely ever mention the McCoys.”

“Your planets were enemies?” the president seemed startled by that.

Mon-El laughed at that. “Oh yeah. Big time.”

“Hundreds of years ago, Krypton and Daxam fought a bloody war to a stalemate,” Kara explained, giving just one example of the long standing animosity between their planets. “Thousands of lives were lost on both sides.”

“It was a pointless war,” Mon-El agreed, a seriousness in his voice as he reached out and rubbed the small of Kara’s back in comfort, his gaze locked on her for the pain she carried in her voice, wanting to comfort his mate. “Krypton was a democracy while Daxam was a monarchy. Neither agreed with the others' methods but neither wanted to change their own.”

Kara reached out and took the hand Mon-El had on her back, moving it around her more and lifting it to press a kiss to the back of it, her eyes so full of sympathy and sorrow as she looked back up at him. He HAD managed to change it, in their dream world. He had fixed everything he’d felt was wrong with his planet…only for it to be for nothing. It had broken his heart and broken hers to see him so hurt, to realize his people had died still in chains. It wasn't just her people who had died in that pointless war either, his people had suffered just as much and she could see a similar pain reflected in his eyes for that loss as well.

“And yet the two of you managed to find love.” The woman gazed between them. “And that is a hope I hold for my Alien Amnesty Act. I want aliens to be able to find a home here, a love, connections. I believe that any conflict can be resolved if there is even the possibility of love. If we can put aside our differences and come together for a common goal, a betterment of life for all, the world will be an amazing place. I hope my Act will be the first step towards that.”

“If WE could find love,” Kara remarked. “I don’t doubt others could too.”

“Yes, our planets REALLY hated each other,” Mon-El had to agree. 

“Perhaps you’re less Hatfields and McCoys,” the President remarked with a smile. “And more Capulets and Montagues, with a far happier ending.”

Kara nodded along with that. “I’ll show you the book later,” she promised Mon-El giving him a quick kiss as the President turned to rejoin her personnel for a quiet discussion. "I think you'll like it. It reminds me of a certain book..."

Mon-El began to smirk, a teasing glint in his eyes so clear that Kara knew she should have phrased it differently. "The Book of Pleas..."

"Don't speak of it!" Kara quickly put a hand to his mouth though she was laughing. "You KNOW I meant Star-Crossed."

Mon-El lightly pulled her hand away, but not before depositing a kiss to her palm. "I just love to see you blush."

And it was true, Kara WAS blushing at that...which surprised Alex as she didn't think she'd seen the girl blush at anything in relation to Mon-El since she'd woken up. Alex quickly shook her head, seeing the soft look coming to Kara's eyes and wanting nothing more than to just...get her away from that man who made her blush and turned her into...into that person she'd seen that morning.

"Supergirl," Alex called out, startling them out of their moment. "Shouldn't you be focusing on your next mission?"

Kara looked confused at that. "I don't have another..."

"SUPERGIRL doesn't," she stated pointedly.

Kara stepped over to Alex's side, bringing Mon-El with her, much to Alex's irritation. "What are you talking about?"

"I was trying to tell you this morning," Alex lowered her voice, casting a glance at the people surrounding the President and back to her sister. "James said you didn't go into work, Snapper assigned articles about the Alien Amnesty Act. Kara Danvers is supposed to interview and write a report on Lena Luthor's take on this and..."

"Who's Snapper?" Kara seemed even more confused. "Why am I interviewing anyone? I'm not a reporter..."

Alex blinked at that before her eyes widened as though she'd realized something. "A lot happened while you were unconscious..."

Instead of getting flustered like Alex expected, instead of hurrying to apologize and then demanding to know what happened and if anyone had been in danger or hurt, Kara crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the information being kept from her. "Like what?"

"Clark stepped in to cover for you," Alex began.

"Kal was here?!" Kara nearly gaped, completely shocked about that and feeling just the slightest bit upset that she'd missed him, feeling a little more angry that he'd just left when she'd been in a coma and vulnerable.

"He helped us investigate a few things," Alex tried to gloss over a majority of it, which Kara, for the moment, seemed to accept so she pushed on. "He went to see Ms. Grant before she left..."

"What do you mean before she left!?"

"Hey," Mon-El quickly stepped up behind her, rubbing her arms in a soothing manner. "It's alright, miar."

Kara closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she felt Mon-El press a kiss to the back of her head. "What do you mean, "she left," Alex?"

"She went on sabbatical, turned the company over to James for the duration. He's been covering for you, we put in that you'd had an emergency spleen removal, laparoscopic now that you're awake," she added, thinking about how that recovery time could go from 6 weeks at a normal surgery or 2 for laparoscopic. "When Clark spoke with her, he told her you wanted to be a reporter so she assigned you to Snapper Carr's division when you were back on your feet. He's the editor-in-chief at CatCo, was pulling in every reporter, including you, for this assignment."

Kara took another breath, trying to absorb everything Alex was dropping on her. Apparently her boss had essentially quit, she'd been reassigned divisions, her cousin had come and went, and she was now supposed to conduct an interview, with a LUTHOR, with absolutely no warning or experience or training. Wonderful.

"Miar," Mon-El spoke behind her, winding his arms around her waist more to rest his forehead to her temple. "You can do this," he murmured into her ear, in Daxamite, which made her smile, the familiar tongue helping ground her in his embrace, the words just a bit more formal to fit the language. "You have encountered more change and challenge than that and triumphed. I know you will in this too."

"English," Alex just barely refrained from snapping, on edge when the man holding her sister slipped into another language she couldn't understand. 

"You should have told me sooner, Alex," Kara remarked, feeling her heart slow down, her body start to relax at Mon-El's encouragement and belief in her. 

Alex shot her a look, mirroring Kara's stance by crossing her arms. "And when would have been a good time? When you were making out with...with him," she gestured at Mon-El and spat "him" as though it were a poison. "In the middle of the DEO? Or when you were in bed with him? Or when you wouldn't let me examine you without him there?"

Kara frowned at Alex's tone. She understood there hadn't been a great time to say anything, certainly not after she'd just woken up or that morning, but at the very least during her examination! Sure she had been chatting with Mon-El, explaining some of the machines to him, but Alex could have cut in at any time and told her, given her more time to come to terms with this than mere minutes.

"Great," Kara huffed, rubbing her head.

"Hey," Mon-El's voice cut through her thoughts, lightly turning her to face him. "It's alright."

"I don't want to," she admitted quietly, a pout in her voice.

It was too much, too soon, she hadn't had any time to prepare or anything! And, worse yet, she hadn't had time to really explain anything to Mon-El either. She'd had to leave for the president and trust him with the DEO, and now she was going to have to leave him again or risk losing her job and...she just...Rao she just wanted to wake up in his arms again and stay in bed the whole day and pretend none of this was happening. There was so much going on and so much she needed to help him understand about Earth and she felt so guilty to go off and just leave him there without her to help him. The DEO would be busy trying to find this hostile alien, Alex didn't seem fond of Mon-El (she would really need to talk to her sister about that), there wasn't really anyone available to help him even begin to adapt but her and now she was being pulled away too. She felt like...like she was failing her duty as his mate to keep leaving him like this.

Alex crossed her arms, her concern for her sister growing even more at her remark. Kara didn't want to interview someone? She didn't want to write an article about it? She didn't want to get her first one out there? Even if Kara had been conflicted about her career path within CatCo, SHE knew her sister, and this was Kara's DREAM. Being a reporter was something she knew Kara Danvers would love and she...she didn't want to? She couldn't help but think it was Mon-El's fault. Kara hadn't been like this before she'd woken up convinced they were mates. She would have been super excited to meet the president, extra excited to be given her first reporting piece. 

Mon-El rubbed Kara's arms soothingly. "I'll still be here," he promised her, leaning in to kiss her gently, reading something in her expression, the reluctance to leave mixed with her nerves to have to do something she wasn't prepared for. "I'm not going anywhere."

Alex wasn't sure if she should be angry at him or not. Was he assuming that Kara didn't want to go because she didn't want to leave HIM? As though he was that much the center of her world that it revolved around him? Or was he trying to reassure Kara to go and that he'd be ok in a new, strange world for however long it took her to do her interview? Right now she was leaning more towards angry.

Kara nodded her head as she rested it against Mon-El's chest. She knew he was right. But she'd just woken up from a dream world, had to relive the fact that she HAD lost her planet and most of her family all over again, and realized he was actually real and not a figment of her imagination creating the perfect man for her. She didn't want to leave him, and she felt like ever since she'd woken up everything just kept coming up to drive them apart. She just...she just wanted a moment to process all this with him, to just BE with him without all these other things blocking her. But she WAS Supergirl, and she was also Kara Danvers, and both had responsibilities, which she knew he'd understand, which he'd already reassured her of.

"I won't be long," she promised in a soft voice, leaning up to kiss him gently relieved to hear him say that. She was going to go regardless, but it meant a lot to know he understood, in some way, why she had to leave. She could hear the unspoken words in his voice, she had responsibilities on Earth just like he'd had responsibilities on Daxam that pulled him away from her a time or two. She gave him one more peck before turning and flying off to get the job done.

Mon-El smiled as he watched her go before the President called out, drawing his attention to her as she requested he join her and her personnel for lunch, curious to learn more about his planet and their customs. He agreed, of course, he wouldn't be rude to another fellow-ruler. And it would give him something to distract himself with while Kara was away. Maybe he could ask her questions about how this Democratic Republic worked.

And then when Kara returned, he could ask her about the odd blue suit she was wearing and what other abilities she had other than flying. He knew he had super strength and speed from when he'd woken up and been able to crush things with his bare hands and run much faster than normal. But he had to ask Kara what she could do...and who Supergirl was because people kept calling her that and he had no idea why.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Kara stood outside of Lena Luthor’s office in what was now known as L-Corp. Apparently she’d also missed the renaming of the Luthor family business while she’d been out. She was hesitating to go in, more due to her lack of experience and preparation time for an interview than anything else. She wasn’t intimidated by Lena, not even as a Luthor, after living with Rhea and standing her own against the former-Queen of Daxam, there was little in the universe, she was sure, that could intimidate her now. She was more nervous about her own presentation. She didn’t want to come across as inexperienced or fresh off training or anything like that. 

She’d learned on Daxam that to seem unfamiliar was like painting a neon target on your back. Vultures would just swoop in and try to manipulate you, use that weakness against you. She’d had to, at the very least, give off an aura of calm and control and power whenever she was around someone else on Daxam she didn’t trust. Which was basically anyone but Dar-Blaine or Mon-El or any of the servants and slaves. She’d always had to be careful how she held herself and presented herself to the people. She had to be seen as their Queen, not just the Kryptonian mate of their King. It had been an eye opener in terms of how much confidence and appearance could make a difference. People were more respectful to her when she had on a commanding air, especially when she stood her ground and made her thoughts known. The firm backbone of her people had come in handy then, she had never been afraid to voice her feelings or anger or disagreements with others because of it. 

She’d been a queen for three years, she knew how to fake confidence till she truly FELT confident, and it would be no different now she decided. Lena Luthor didn’t know Kara Danvers, had never met her, and so her first impression would be as professional and confident as she could make it. And she’d do her best to be polite as well, not wanting to get on the bad side of a Luthor and risk setting her off. From what she’d read about Lena on her phone on the flight over, Lena was determined to make a new name for her family’s business and make it a force for good. 

She’d see whether Lena was being truthful about that or not in time, but she wasn’t about to just trust a Luthor without proof. She had learned from her time with Mon-El that prejudice was an awful thing to give into, that first impressions weren’t always correct, and she was not going to outright judge Lena on the family she came from. But there was nothing wrong with being cautious and seeing for herself the sort of person she was.

She took a deep breath, straightened her spin, lifted her chin, and knocked on the door, entering when she heard a voice call out to come in. 

“Ms. Luthor,” she greeted the woman sitting at a large desk with her back to a larger window. 

“Lena, please,” the woman stood, reaching out to shake her hand. “I assume you are Ms. Kara Danvers, my interviewer?”

“I am,” Kara agreed, hesitating only a moment to offer, “If I'm calling you Lena…”

“Kara it is.”

Kara sat down at the chair across from Lena’s desk as the woman gestured to it, shifting just a bit at hearing a Luthor be so informal with her. She had to shake herself from the memories of Daxam. Most members of the Daxamite Court called her by her title, only the servants and slaves she’d given leave to call her by her name. She’d needed every advantage and weapon she had in her possession to make an impression on Mon-El’s people and keep herself safe, reminding them she was their Queen was one way to do it. 

“If you have a parking ticket, I can have it validated for you,” Lena continued, pulling Kara from her drifting thoughts.

“No need, I took the bus, thank you,” she responded. “If you wouldn’t mind, I have just a few questions…”

“Right to the point,” Lena remarked with a small smile. “I appreciate the professionalism.”

“As you know, the President is in town to sign her Alien Amnesty Act. I have to ask what the sister of Earth's most notorious alien-hater thinks of the President's executive order.”

Instead of answering, Lena stood up. “I want to show you something.” She moved over to a small safe-like device on a shelf along the wall and opened it, pulling out a small rectangular device that had a small groove on both sides.

“What is it?” Kara almost hesitated to ask. 

Lena walked back over to her desk and sat down, placing the device on the middle of it. “It's an alien detection device that allows humans to find out who among them is not truly one of them. It's not market-ready yet. I mean, we're still developing the prototype. But we aim to have this device in every store, in every town all across America.”

“And how does it work?”

“It's just a simple skin test. Ok, let me show you what a negative response looks like.” Lena pressed her thumb on one end of the groove, a green light flashing on the other side. “See.” She slid the device closer to Kara. “Now, you try.”

Kara, instead of searching for a reason not do, merely gave Lena a frown. “You realize a device like this goes against everything America is supposed to stand for, don’t you?”

Lena raised an eyebrow at the challenge in Kara’s voice, leaning back to cross her arms. “Such as?”

“Freedom against persecution for one. America's always been a country full of immigrants.”

“It's also always been a country of humans.”

Kara pursed her lips at that distinction, not liking what she was hearing. “This device will force aliens back into the very shadows the President is trying to shine a light on.”

Lena shrugged, seeming unconcerned. “If aliens want to be citizens, that's now their right. But if humans want to know which of their fellow citizens aren't actually one of them, then that's their right too. I'm a business woman,” she stated. “L-Corp is in the business of making money and this device is going to make us a fortune. Unlike my brother, I'm going to do it for the good of the world. So…” she gestured at the device.

Kara shook her head and stood, her body tense and barely containing her fury in her words. “I think I have everything I need to know about what the last Luthor thinks of the Amnesty Act. Thank you for your time, we’re done here.”

Lena actually seemed startled that someone would talk to her like that, refuse her device, and walk out on her in her own office.

But Kara was not just “someone,” she had been a Queen, she had fought to help those that hadn’t had a voice on Daxam find freedom to be themselves and be happy. And now it was happening all over again on Earth. And she’d be damned if she let the aliens have their voices or freedom stripped, their happiness put in jeopardy, because of this.

For the first time since she’d been told she was now a reporter, she was actually glad about it. Being a reporter meant she could get information out there, make people aware of the hard-hitting stories. And the world needed to know exactly what sort of person Lena was, a woman so focused on making millions she’d exploit and endanger the minority that was aliens. 

If this Snapper Carr wanted an article about a Luthor’s feelings on Alien Amnesty, she’d give him one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just going to forewarn here, Kara and Lena will not have the exact same BFF relationship as in the show. 
> 
> In the show, Kara's first real impression of Lena was hearing her talk about how she wants to make a name for good outside her family, similar to how Kara wanted to make her own name outside of Superman/family. 
> 
> HERE, in this story, her first impression of Lena will be seeing the woman ready to market a device that would force aliens back into the shadows or even endanger their lives which will make her more wary/cautious in how she acts around Lena. She is going to see a woman more concerned with making money than help keep a minority safe. 
> 
> She'll still have some sort of friendship with Lena, but it won't be as close as in the show, more like she's going to keep Lena at arm's length just in case Lena turns out to be like Lex, as she is more aware Lex was Clark's good friend before he turned on him, and she has spent years in the Daxamite Court watching how they could manipulate each other so she's more cautious in general about who she trusts.
> 
> And with how Lena came across during this, expressly saying she was interested in making money over alien freedom, and with Kara having JUST come from a dream world where her mate and herself worked to FREE those who were being oppressed, she's not going to want to see anyone, any alien, being oppressed or endangered because of such an invention.
> 
> On a lighter note, the President! I really loved having Mon-El be a part of that conversation :-) I really tried to include his thoughts, Kara's thoughts, and Alex's about all of this. Kara is aware her sister isn't fond of Mon-El, and she might be holding off on confronting her due to the fact it's her sister, but that won't last forever ;-)


	15. Don't Tell Me What to Feel

The absolute LAST person Kara wanted to run into as she stormed out of Snapper’s division of CatCo was James but it seemed like Rao’s favor had worn off. Her meeting with Snapper, presenting her article to him, meeting him for the first time, had not gone well at all. He almost made Ms. Grant seem like a sweetheart in how he tore her work apart. He’d told her to rewrite her article on Lena Luthor because he said it was biased and if she didn’t submit something more literal to what was said he would pull it entirely. She had felt so angry that he seemed to be taking Lena’s side by having her rewrite it, she’d been angry he hadn’t liked a single thing about it. Lena wanted to market a creation that people could use to detect if the people they encountered were human or alien. She wanted to force aliens to reveal themselves. All she kept thinking of was lessons on Earth of how people would out others throughout Earth’s history, whether it be by religion, sexuality, or nationality, how people would force others into the light and how “well” that worked out for people. Lena was setting it up for aliens to be just as persecuted, even MORE so than they already were.

Her feelings were in overdrive. Disgust at what Lena was doing, how she was willing to sacrifice the safety of a number of different species for MONEY. Anger at how Snapper refused to publish her article revealing that plan. And just…a powerlessness to do something.

She understood now, more than ever, what Mon-El had felt on Daxam. Being the prince, wanting to change the system of his planet, but being powerless to DO it. And all she wanted was to go back to the DEO and hug him tight, kiss him, and really apologize to him about how she’d acted towards him before he’d explained himself. She needed him, right now, to calm her down, to remind her that she could do this, to help her find a way to get her point out in a subtle enough way to get Snapper to back off while still showing the public Lena’s true colors. The woman could fund numerous hospitals for children, but she cared nothing for the safety of aliens, even the good ones.

And right now, her MATE was on Earth. Her mate was an ALIEN. Lena’s device could put Mon-El in danger and without knowing what abilities he had or what the extent of his abilities were, he’d be vulnerable in a way neither of them should ever be. Mon-El had a good heart. If he thought, even for a moment, that his abilities would hurt someone, he'd never use them even to defend himself. He wouldn't want to accidently hurt a human, even an anti-alien one, which put him in danger.

She just wanted to make sure he was alright, that he was protected and safe for the moment, she just wanted her mate.

So, of course, because she needed him, and because she had to leave the building in a “human” way…she HAD to run into James.

Or, perhaps a better way to say it was, James was waiting for her when she came out of the elevator to the main floor. Apparently he knew she’d come to deliver the article, banking on her not passing up the deadline, to catch her.

“We need to talk,” were the first words out of his mouth. 

Normally she was sure the edge in his voice, the hint of hurt, the resignation, the flash of anger in his words would have her apologizing to him for whatever it was she’d done. But this time she couldn’t muster even the smallest amount of guilt over it. Because James sounded like that because of Mon-El and herself, and she had refused a long time ago to EVER let anyone make her feel ashamed of him or bad about their relationship.

“So talk,” she said, seeming to surprise him.

James blinked at her and shook his head, looking around before reaching out as though to tug her after him. But she pulled her arm away and stepped back, giving him a warning look not to just grab her. He simply turned, seeming irritated by the action, and led her to a nearby employee room that was thankfully empty.

“What happened?” He turned to face her, crossing his arms. “Kara…I stopped by your loft, with pizza and potsickers, for our DATE, and found you passed out on the floor. You weren’t responsive. You were in a coma for nine days. And when you wake up?” He shook his head in utter disbelief. “You nearly attack Alex and I just to get to…to some alien you didn’t know and threw yourself at him!”

Kara’s jaw clenched at how he was raising his voice but making an effort to keep it quiet incase anyone walked past the door. “I’m sorry if I hurt you or Alex,” she offered, choosing to focus on that first. “I was disoriented when I woke up. It took a while for my memories to sort themselves out.”

“Why would you need to sort out your memories?”

“The coma wasn’t a normal one. It sent me into a…dream world of sorts. I was back on Krypton, in a world where my planet didn’t explode thanks to the help of Daxam.”

“And what’s Daxam?”

“Mon-El’s planet.”

“The alien you were kissing.”

“My MATE,” she emphasized, not liking his tone.

“You had no idea who he was before you went into that coma,” he pointed out.

“But I do know him now,” Kara argued. “Because he was in that world too. He was conscious there, just like I was. His planet helped save mine…”

“And, let me guess, you felt indebted to him?” 

Kara had never felt so offended. “What are you trying to imply, James? And consider your words VERY carefully!”

“Not like that,” James let out in a huff, rubbing his forehead. He realized after he’d said it how his words sounded, like Kara had thrown herself at this Mon-El person as a means to thank him for saving her planet, but that was an insult to Kara and her character. “I just…I don’t know any other reason for you to…”

“He is my MATE, James,” Kara cut in. “In that world, I married him.”

James started to shake his head at that. “You wouldn’t…”

“I would,” she nodded firmly. “I did. And I would do it again.”

“Did he completely brainwash you or something?” James sounded completely enraged now, but not at her. “That is NOT the Kara I know talking! She wouldn’t just…just marry some stranger! And she wouldn’t kiss him either! You’d sooner punch an alien suspect than…”

“He didn’t do anything to me,” Kara defended, a fierce quality in her voice that always seemed to come out when someone insulted Mon-El. There was a crinkling noise that she ignored as her hands clenching into fists around the draft of her article. “He has NEVER done anything to me that I didn’t ask him to do, that I didn’t beg him to do…”

She didn’t know why she’d said that last part, but she was just…so ANGRY at how James was reacting, how he was talking to her, how he was talking about Mon-El. For one brief moment, she wanted to hurt him. Because his words were hurting her, they were cutting her deeply. Because somewhere in her mind, they were familiar. Even if the words were different, it was the intent and the thought behind them. It was words spoken by someone who thought they knew the sort of man Mon-El was, who thought they knew more about the situation than they really did. It reminded her of herself on Daxam, how awful she'd been to Mon-El at first. She had thought she'd known him, because he was Daxamite and they were all the same, how she thought she knew about how evil Daxam was as a planet and culture until she'd lived there and gotten to understand the reasons behind their beliefs and ways. She'd made assumptions and she'd hurt the man she loved because of it. It killed her to hear others talk like that, like they KNEW, when they didn't, because it reminded her of herself. For a brief moment, she wanted to hurt James, she wanted him to know she wasn't his to be angry about, she wasn't ever going to be his.

Another part of her tried to remind herself that he was just hurt, that he was confused and alarmed and worried about her, that he had every right to be, whether as a friend or a would-have-been-potential-suitor. He was upset about the situation and didn’t understand it and was lashing out. But his implications, his tone, it was starting to upset HER now. He could say whatever he wanted about her, think whatever he wanted, but to try and insult her mate? She drew the line there.

Mon-El had suffered so much abuse at the hands of people who were meant to love him. He'd suffered emotionally, mentally, verbally, and even physically due to his parents. He'd had to face his people questioning the fact that he loved HER, that he chose HER, that he claimed her as his mate. He had to face the noble houses trying to roadblock ever attempt to make his planet better. But he had suffered so much in his life and she had sworn to herself she would bring him nothing but joy, love, and peace to the end of her days. She had seen him endure the abuse of his parents, take every insult as though he deserved it, and she refused, absolutely refused, to ever allow someone else to abuse or insult her mate again.

“He has been my husband for three years, James,” Kara added, softer, when she saw James flinch at her words, really trying to focus on the fact that they were friends and he HAD been hurt by her actions. She just wanted to explain it to him, make him understand how she felt. The situation was confusing, she wouldn't deny it, but her emotions and feelings were just as important as James' were and she didn't want him to try and make HER feel bad just because she fell in love with someone that wasn't him. “In that world, we were happy and together, for years. I love him James. And I’m sorry if that hurts you.”

James let out a forceful breath through his nose. “It was a dream, Kara, it wasn’t real. You don’t really love him. Don't stay with him just because you feel obligated...”

"Don't." Kara was starting to get really tired of how people kept trying to say that. “It was real to me, and it was real to him, and I do love him, James. And he loves me. I’m sorry. I know we were about to go on a date, but that won’t ever happen. I choose him, James. I will always choose my mate.”

James swallowed hard at that. “Then I guess we have nothing else to talk about.” 

“James…” Kara sighed as he started walking, stepping past her to head to the door. “I’m sorry if this has hurt you. But I am not sorry that I love him.”

James paused at the door. “You keep telling yourself that,” he muttered, before stepping out.

Kara took a deep breath at his words and how they hurt. 

Because they reminded her so much of Rhea. 

Rhea had been furious with Mon-El for declaring her his mate during their latching, had not made it a secret just how much she disagreed with it, how ashamed she was in him to do that. There had been a distinct point where Rhea had pulled her aside and berated her for “seducing” her son, for making him think she loved him, for making him choose her for a Mate. Rhea had been SO convinced that she couldn’t possibly love Mon-El for real, that it was some ploy, and that one day Mon-El would realize a Kryptonian couldn’t love a Daxamite and be trapped in his marriage and be miserable and it would be her fault.

She had never before been so angry with someone, had never hated them so much as she had Rhea for ever assuming she knew what SHE felt. She had been fuming that the woman had the gall to try and tell her what she felt wasn’t real, to imply that she was lying about it all or that she would regret it one day.

James sounded JUST like her just then. His words were cutting. He didn’t believe her. He really thought that she was delusional to love Mon-El just because their love had been created in a dream world. 

But he wasn’t her, he didn’t feel what she felt, he didn’t KNOW her heart. 

She loved Mon-El and he loved her, and she was never ever going to let anyone try to diminish what she had with her mate, not even James.

He had been a good friend to her, and she would hate to lose his friendship because he was important to her cousin as well. But she would not stand for him insulting her the way he had. If he chose to apologize one day, she may forgive him, they may be friends again. She would give him the respect he deserved as her boss and the head of CatCo and she would give him the same care and concern she’d give any other human, but that would be where it ended.

Because right now?

Right now she just wanted her mate.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Mon-El was entranced as he stood behind Kara as she sat in the DEO before a monitor, typing rapidly. He had seen her this focused before, on Daxam, when she was helping him restructure the legal system and he knew, from the way her face scrunched that she was very intent to see her work done and done well, that it was something important to her. He loved watching her like this, had actually spent HOURS watching her work away, just enraptured. Every little move she made was just magical to him, enchanting him, pulling him further under her spell and he absolutely no complaints about it.

“And I just finished cataloging the seven lost tomes of the Delvarian homeworld,” a man working on a monitor beside hers commented, Winn, he believed was the name. Kara had introduced them briefly when she’d arrived at the DEO to work on her article. “So, yay me. How's your article coming?”

“Awful,” was all she stated.

Mon-el chuckled lightly behind her, one word responses…this was something VERY important to her then. He was trying not to read over her shoulder too much. One of her pet peeves was him reading her work before it was finished. She always wanted it to be perfect, anything she gave to him. He’d told her, numerous times, that anything she gave him, whether it was the roughest draft in the universe, would automatically be perfect because it came from her and she was perfect.

…that had led to one of their more memorable, and no less perfect, nights.

“Um…there's no "k" in diabolical,” Winn pointed out.

Kara let out a frustrated breath. “I don't know how to stay emotionally neutral when I'm writing something I'm passionate about. I have a lot of passion!”

Mon-El laughed, resting his hands on her shoulders to squeeze them in comfort. “Believe me,” he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “I know that very well.”

“It’s just…it’s frustrating,” Kara leaned back, rolling her head up to look at him. “This is important, its my first article as a reporter, and I want it to be good.”

“It will be,” he nodded. “Because you’re writing it.”

Kara felt herself start to smile at that.

“Now, come on,” Mon-El tugged her lightly, getting her to her feet and turning her around, pulling her a few feet away from her station. “Whatever you need.”

Kara immediately wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself against him as she hugged him tightly, smiling against his chest. It was something they had done on Daxam and every time he brought up one of those moments, she felt her heart flutter at the familiarity of it, at the reminder that HE remembered that same moment too, that it was real to him as well. She used to get so frustrated, when there was a custom or a tradition or something else going on on his planet that she didn’t know or had to learn. He would always find her frustrated and ranting and would take her hands, offering anything he could do to help her regain her calm or work through it. Whether it was a hug or a kiss, a break from it all, a meal, a quick rendezvous in the bedroom, or sitting beside her to work it out, even singing to her (she adored his voice), he would do absolutely anything she asked if it was going to help her calm. She honestly hadn't thought he'd been serious about the offer the first time he'd made it, had gotten him to jump in circles on one foot while flapping his arms and making odd animal noises, before she realized he was being true to his word, anything at all that he could do to help her he would do without question. And that revelation had led to a very much needed journey to the bedroom to show him how grateful she was for his efforts and how much she appreciated his promise.

Kara leaned her head back, tilting it up in askance and he leaned down to kiss her gently. He pulled away to a pout on her face as she pushed herself on her toes to chase his lips. He pressed a finger lightly to her lips to still her. “Article first, kisses later.”

“You know there is a saying on Earth: All work and no play makes Kara a dull woman.”

“You could never be dull,” he told her sincerely. “You shine far too bright to ever be dull.”

“You are NOT making it any easier to go back to my article,” she informed him. Now she wanted to do far more than just kiss him again.

“Hmm…” he hummed in playful consideration. “How about this…finish the article, and I’ll give you a reward.”

She narrowed her eyes slightly. “...THE reward?”

He nodded, “Of course.”

Kara seemed very pleased with the offer and turned on her heel to plop back down on her chair, working on the article diligently.

“Reward?” Alex asked as she moved to stand beside Mon-El, observing her sister and unable to remain standing off to the side at the mention of such a thing. “And what would that be?”

Mon-El glanced at her, hesitant to say. From what he’d seen of Alex, she was…not pleased with him and his relationship with Kara. Which was odd to him. Kal had been very supportive of it and he was a Kryptonian, yet Alex, a human, a species he had seen just in observation was far less uptight than Kryptonians, was not.

“That is between Kara and I,” he offered diplomatically.

It seemed to be the wrong answer for Alex who narrowed her eyes at him. “I want to know if you’re bribing my sister to...”

“I get to tie him up and do whatever I want to him,” Kara called out, not even glancing back at her, not sounding at all shamed for what she was saying or bringing up in front of other people but sounding almost challenging and more than a little annoyed. “That what you wanted to hear?"

It wasn't a lie though. That WAS the reward. Mon-El wasn't a fan of having his hands bound, of having any part of him restrained...but he trusted HER to make it a good and pleasurable experience. And she always, always delivered and then some. She had never thought she'd ever enjoy something like that, had honestly thought it was a barbaric thing to do the first time she'd even heard of the practice on Daxam. She'd seen it as more synonymous with torture and non-consent than anything, till Mon-El explained how it was viewed ON Daxam.

To the Daxamites, it was a show of trust and devotion. It was something a pair engaged in when they really did trust the other person not to abuse their power. It was about giving control to those that sometimes felt they didn't have enough of it, it was about having those that had to be too controlling of themselves the freedom to allow another to hold that control instead. And it was about denying one sense, in order to strengthen others. She had been blindfolded once before that point, and she could attest that it felt like all her other senses were working on overdrive to compensate. It stood to reason that removing "touch" would make the other senses stronger too.

Even then she hadn't thought she'd be interested in it. She hadn't trusted Daxam enough to feel secure enough to allow herself to be bound or restrained. Mon-El had accepted, had jokingly offered to be the one tied up instead. And she hadn't been able to forget about it. She'd thought about it here and there, then the thought grew to more curiosity, then she'd dreamed of it a time or two, imagined what it might be like to have that much more control over her mate. She swore she'd just been curious, just wanted to see what it might be like, experience it at least once. It was how she'd managed to reconcile her Kryptonian culture with trying to learn more about Daxam, that she never outright refuse something (or at least something relatively harmless) until she had tried it once. She'd brought it up to him and he'd been more than willing to give her what she wanted. And she found...she enjoyed it. She'd loved having that power over him. She often had that sort of power outside the bedroom, Mon-El loved her and he proved it in everything he did. But in the bedroom? When she could tie him up where his strength would sometimes hold her down? When SHE controlled the touches he was given instead of his warm and gentle hands roving her body? When she could make him writhe and beg for her the same way he often had her craving him and lost in a haze of passion before she could return the favor?

She nearly flushed just thinking about those moments. She had liked it more than she ever thought she would. They had talked about it, gone over what they were both comfortable with, discovered ways to call it off if it got to be too much or too uncomfortable. Mon-El had confessed that it was something he too was curious to try, which had surprised her as she'd have thought he'd experimented with that sort of play long before her. He had spoken of his misgivings about letting anyone have that much power over him, to tie down the prince of Daxam meant making him vulnerable. His bedmate could just as easily be an assassin and he couldn't afford to ever allow himself to be restrained like that...and he had some sour memories of his parents binding him when he was "too unruly" as a child he hadn't wanted to risk thinking about tied up in bed. He trusted HER though, he trusted that she loved him and would only want it to be a good experience. It had meant so much to her he was willing to let her try, to give her something he'd held back on, to give her something SHE could be the FIRST to do with him. It didn't happen often, she always kept in mind his bad memories and only agreed to take on that sort of play when HE was the one that brought it up. It had become a silly little reward system to them over the years, something that happened so rarely it really was a reward, for the both of them.

Alex started to sputter at that, pulling Kara from her thoughts. “Since when are YOU into bondage?!”

Mon-El chuckled, not quite sure what bondage meant on Earth but able to guess. “Well they don’t call Daxam the planet of the hedonists for nothing. We might have to wait till we find a stronger bed though but...”

Alex shook her head, her eyes closed, breathing heavily through her nose. “This is the most messed up Stockholm Syndrome I’ve ever…”

Before she could even finish, there was a whoosh that had her opening her eyes to see Kara had gotten up from her chair and was standing before her, frowning deeply, quite angry. 

“Hallway, now!" Kara grabbed Alex's arm perhaps just a tad too tightly for a human and half dragged her out of the room to the hall, spinning around to glare at her sister. "You’re not seriously trying to imply I was Mon-El’s captive before I fell for him,” she nearly hissed.

“You SAID you were forced to marry him!” Alex defended.

“You don’t know a thing about our marriage, Alex,” Kara stated. “I CHOSE to marry him. There may have been an agreement between our families about it, but I WANTED to marry him.”

“Why would you…”

“Because I got to know him, Alex! Before I even knew there was an agreement. I fell for him before I even thought a marriage between us could be possible. I am NOT brainwashed or whatever you think I am to call it Stockholm…”

“I just want you to understand you don’t HAVE to be with him, Kara,” Alex tried to speak to her gently, reaching out to her sister only for Kara to step away from her. “It was a dream, it wasn’t real. You CAN have anyone else you want. It doesn’t have to be him. If...if you feel like you HAVE to be with him just because of that dream, because you were together there, it's not true. This isn't Daxam or Krypton, this is Earth, you have a CHOICE here. I know I said you didn’t seem excited about dating James but he IS an option and…”

“And what if I want Mon-El?” Kara cut in, starting to get truly very angry that everyone kept telling her what she felt wasn't real, that people kept assuming what her feelings were without LISTENING to her when she explained them. “What if I choose him here on Earth too? What if I want to claim his as my mate again?”

“Seems like you already did,” Alex muttered, seeming to get angrier at the memory of that morning. “How could you just go and have sex with him like that?!”

“Because I wanted to?” Kara shook her head, not understanding Alex at all right now. “If I learned anything on Daxam it’s to accept myself, Alex. To accept who I am and what I feel and what I want. There is no shame in wanting someone, in desiring them or being with someone. There is nothing wrong with wanting to feel good and whole and complete. I have the right to my feelings and the right to seek pleasure with the one I choose, and I’m sorry if that’s not how you think Kara Danvers should feel, but this is who I am. I LOVE him, Alex. And I choose him. If you need me to marry him in an Earth custom to prove it…”

“Don’t…” Alex shook her head, shifting and looking away at how Kara had spoken about not being ashamed of what she felt, of accepting herself, something niggling in the back of her mind about that. She shook her head and brushed it away, focusing instead on what Kara was threatening to do with Mon-El now on Earth. “Don’t go that far.” She took a deep breath. “I get it, ok? I’m just worried that when the dream fades away you’ll regret all this.” She could feel tears starting to form in her eyes at the thought of how BAD that could be for her sister, to go through all this and then one day wake up-wake up and just hate herself for all of it.

“It won’t and I won’t,” Kara stated so firmly Alex almost believed her. “I lived an entire life with him on Daxam, Alex. I know him, heart, mind, and soul. And I love him. Love like that won’t go away and even if it did, I managed to fall in love with him on DAXAM, Alex. I fell in love with him with our planets literally at each other's throats and judging us constantly. I have no doubt I'd fall in love with him again on Earth if the dream ever faded away. I really think I would fall in love with him no matter what world we were in, and it would be better for you, as my sister, to accept that and support me instead of trying to come between us or invalidate what I feel and experienced.” 

“I’m not trying to…”

“Were you on Krypton?” Kara cut in, changing the topic so quickly it threw Alex. “Were you there when my planet was destroyed? Were you in a pod with me when I lost everything?”

“You know I wasn’t.”

“So just because YOU didn’t experience it, does it mean I didn’t too?”

“Kara…”

“I lived a life with Mon-El in a…a dream world, fine. But I LIVED it, I experienced it, I was THERE. It was real to me. Just because you weren’t there and you didn’t experience it, doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

Alex swallowed hard at that, at how Kara put it into those terms. By the logic she was trying to force on Kara, because SHE hadn’t been on Krypton or experienced its destruction, it wasn’t real to her. But it was to Kara, it happened TO her, just like this dream did.

…and really why was she getting so worked up over it? Kara had clearly been happy in that world, she had found a place for herself, found someone who loved her and adored her and would clearly do anything to protect her including standing between her and a line of weapons without hesitation. Kara had matured, she had very clearly matured, even SHE could see how differently Kara handled herself with a more serious air to her. She was still happy and full of hope, but there was a hardness around her edges now. That dream world hadn’t hurt her, and coming out of it had clearly given her something she never would have had on Earth in Mon-El…

Alex let out a breath at that, quickly wiping up beneath her eye as another thought struck her. Maybe THAT was why she was so on edge about all this. Her little sister had gone from needing her big sister to save her life and watch out for her, to this true woman who…had someone else to do it now. Her sister had gone from being someone that needed her…to someone that clearly needed Mon-El more. And it hurt. She’d always expected there would be a day Kara would find someone and that her time with her sister would need to be shared…but she’d thought she’d see it coming, have time to prepare. Kara had gone to sleep her little sister and woken up as someone else’s wife…and was HAPPY about it.

It hurt, to know she’d lost that spot in her sister’s life so quickly and so without any sort of warning. Her sister still loved her, would still need her for sisterly things, she knew she wasn't losing Kara to Mon-El...it was just...she would have to share her sister with him now, it was that Kara now had someone else to turn to for things and wouldn't need her as much.

But, despite all that, pushing past all that, there was still the sister in her that wanted only one thing.

“I just want you to be happy,” she whispered, her voice cracking a little at the truth in the emotion behind it.

Kara’s hard expression softened. “I am." She reached out now to Alex, gripping her arm gently and squeezing in reassurance. "I am VERY happy. Mon-El makes me SO happy, Alex.”

Alex nodded. “I know," she had to admit, thinking about all the interactions she'd witnessed between Kara and Mon-El, how much and how brightly her sister smiled around the man. "I can see it.”

“Then can you please, PLEASE, give him a fair chance?” Kara asked.

Alex sighed but nodded. “I’ll try,” she promised, before attempting a teasing smirk. “But he’ll still have to live up to my standards as your big sister.”

Kara, to her credit, didn’t even whine about how that would be impossible. She merely smiled. “He will.”

Alex gave her an impressed look at that before Kara pulled her in for a humanly-tight hug, the two of them laughing as they turned to head back into the room.

“Mon-El!” Kara huffed lightly when she saw him sitting in her seat, clearly reading her article, both the first draft and the one she’d been trying to write.

He held his hands up in surrender and innocence, though the last one was coupled with a guilty smile. 

She rolled her eyes and plopped herself down on his lap, using his risen arms to grab them and wind them around her, just leaning on him, resting her head to his shoulder. “I think I need a break from writing for a moment.”

“Take as long as you need.” He pressed a kiss to her temple, remaining quiet a moment before he hummed in her ear. 

“What is it?” she asked, knowing he did that when he was considering saying something.

“Your article, it reminds me of us.”

Kara pulled away quickly to frown at him. “What?”

He chuckled lightly, kissing her nose in reassurance. “You were so angry with me, when we first met. You hated me.”

“I hated your people,” she corrected.

“A people I belonged to,” he reminded her. “But you had all these assumptions about me, about them. I like to think I proved you wrong.”

“You did.”

He smiled. “But some of my people would have proven you right, like my parents." He paused a moment, looking for the right words. "If a Kryptonian and a Daxamite stood before a human, no one would know they were aliens, because we look like them and we blend in." Kara frowned, hearing him mimicking J'onn's words from earlier. "But only one of them would be around a human and not hurt them."

"You would never hurt..."

"I know," Mon-El cut in gently. "But some of my people would. My parents especially come to mind. Put them on Earth and they would have a field day causing all sorts of hurt, as much as I hate to say it, a lot of Daxamites would too."

"What are you saying? That the device is a GOOD thing?"

"I'm just saying that a Daxamite would take advantage of a human, and a human wouldn't think anything of it, wouldn't be on guard, because we look like them. But if they knew it was an alien, maybe they'd be more cautious, maybe there would be less chance of them getting hurt. I'm a good person," he added, smiling at her softly. "You taught me that, you made me believe that. But I'm not naive enough to think all of my people were good too. And as much as you may want to believe all aliens are good, there will always be a few that are bad. Like what Alex and J’onn were afraid of. I don’t think they are all bad, not at all, but…there will be some that are bad. Maybe that’s where this…Lima person is coming from.”

“Lena,” Kara corrected again.

"I just think that's something to keep in mind," he offered, absently rubbing her arm. "I will defend my people, when they deserve defending against prejudice or those who don't understand our ways. But I won't defend them to the point where my defense tries to excuse their actions or endangers someone else."

Kara was silent as she considered his words, knowing he was talking about a few Daxamite customs. Some offworlders would see them as barbaric or reckless, she had thought the same about their chemical uses, till Mon-El explained how they were connected, how they didn't like feeling bad so everyone tried to feel good to spread that good feeling. He defended them in that regard. But his people also engaged in slavery, and he would absolutely NOT excuse that, because those actions HURT other people, endangered them, and he did all he could to stop it. It was the same thing here. 

He wasn’t trying to say all aliens needed to be denied citizenship, he was just expressing…and reminding her really…that there would always be a few criminals mixed in and she couldn't afford to trust every single alien out there to be one of the good ones, not when her being wrong could hurt other people. 

Just like with humans. The more she thought about it like that…when humans committed a crime, they were registered so that others knew what they’d done and could protect themselves against it. It happened more with acts of sexual violence, rapists and pedophiles and such, but there was no way a google search wouldn’t bring up someone’s arrest history if they committed a crime that made them dangerous to other humans.

It was the same basic principle, in a way. Lena was trying to give people a way to protect themselves. And, realistically…it wasn’t like a person was going to whip out her device with EVERY single person they met. Realistically, people might buy it when it first came out but find it too burdensome and too time consuming to deal with. And, realistically, other humans might get insulted if a person they trusted wanted to test them to make sure they were human.

There would be an enormous fallout from Lena’s device, she could see that now. People who had endured terrible times where they were essentially tagged for being a certain race or religion would revolt against it. Boycotts would likely arise. Lena would ultimately lose the millions she was so sure she’d receive from it.

And, in the end, Mon-El was right to remind her of that, just as there were a few good Daxamites…there were a few bad aliens. 

She let out a breath, thumping his chest with her head as she flopped back into his arms. “I hate when you go diplomatic on me.”

He chuckled in her ear, making her smile. “You love it when I act all responsible,” he countered.

She did. It was something she loved to see because it was so contrary to what she knew of his people. For him to act responsible just did things to her, the same way her acting playful did things to him. He loved it when she was playful and flirty because, to him, it was contrary to what he knew of HER people.

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Feeling better?”

She nodded. “Ready to write again.”

She turned in his arms, making no move to get up from his lap and began to type, smiling even more when he wrapped his arms around her middle and rested a chin on her shoulder to watch over her arm as she worked.

Behind her, Alex couldn’t help but smile at the scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like to think that Mon-El's time with Kara helped make him more mature and responsible the same way being around Mon-El helped loosen Kara up a little ;-)
> 
> I felt kind of bad for James in this chapter, he's so confused and went from "I'm about to go on a date" to "my almost-girlfriend is married?" :-/ But I also feel like his reaction would not get the reaction he expected from Kara and Kara wasn't acting like he thought she would either, because he's out of the loop about how she's changed and why. There will be another conversation to come where Kara gets to explain to him what her life on Daxam was like and how she and Mon-El came to be, but I won't say when ;-)
> 
> I also think that Kara wouldn't take any negative comments against Mon-El. She's been around Rhea for a while, she's seen the harm her words did to Mon-El and I think Kara would go protective-mate over things like that. She would never want Mon-El to endure that abuse again if she could help it, nor would she want to be witness to someone saying things about him in silence. She'd defend her mate just like her mate would defend her :-)


	16. Resolutions

Kara sighed, politely thanking Lena’s assistant for letting her into Lena’s office of L-Corp. She really wanted to be back at her loft where she'd been explaining to Mon-El how the TV and Internet worked, but she’d gotten a call requesting to meet Lena and Mon-El had assured her he would be fine. He had recently discovered Wikipedia and had been extremely focused on reading articles about things he'd already noticed were different on Earth than Daxam. She wanted to be there to explain all that herself, but Kara Danvers had to meet the request. She hadn't failed to notice that, when she looked back for one last glance of him, Mon-El had a page dedicated to Supergirl open. She had hurried out after that, wanting to give him time to read the articles and absorb what it is she did in that persona. She really didn't know how to start off that conversation because she knew the instant she started to talk about the dangers she faced it would lead to a heated discussion about it. Maybe if he read it from a third party, read something depicting her efforts in a heroic light, he might react better. Everything he had done on Daxam had been to keep her safe, and now she was on Earth and putting herself in danger every day. He was not going to be happy about it.

“Hi, sorry to drop in unannounced,” she spoke to Lena as the woman sat on a couch in the office, pushing her thoughts about that to the side to focus on being Kara Danvers. “I just got the message you wanted to see me." She could almost feel the awkward silence descending and added, "Those flowers are beautiful,” when she noticed a vase of white flowers on the coffee table before Lena.

“They're called plumerias. They're pretty rare.”

“They remind me a little of my mother.”

“Was your mother a writer, too?”

“No, she was a lawyer.”

“Well, you've have a natural gift with words,” Lena closed the CatCo magazine she was holding and dropped it on the table, gesturing for her to sit. “The article's amazing. After I heard your bleeding heart, pro-alien views, I was afraid you'd do a hatchet job on me.”

Kara’s jaw clenched at Lena’s description of her passion for alien rights but took a breath, deciding to be honest. “Oh I did,” she assured the woman, seeming to surprise Lena slightly with the admission and the unabashed way she'd said it. “I wrote a scathing article about your device but my boss tossed it and made me re-do it.”

And wasn't that something to get used to again, having someone dictate what she could or couldn't do. Mon-El had certainly spoiled her on Daxam by never forcing her to engage in Daxamite traditions if she wasn't comfortable with them. She'd been the Queen, she had been the boss. It was taking her some time to adjust.

“Well, that explains it." Lena chuckled. 

“In the end, it was better that he did,” Kara had to admit as she started to smile. “Someone helped put in perspective that being pro-alien doesn’t have to mean being so supportive that it puts others in danger.”

“And who do I have to thank for that revelation?”

Kara’s grin turned soft. “My husband.”

“I didn't realize you were married,” Lena remarked with a blink, glancing down instantly at Kara’s ring finger only to see it bare.

“It’s…complicated,” Kara offered, inwardly cursing herself for letting that fact slip through. She was trying not to judge Lena based on her last name, but she wasn't going to suddenly start trusting her either, she was a stranger. But whenever her thoughts turned to Mon-El it was so easy to feel at peace and feel calm, she loved claiming him, calling him her mate and husband, it slipped. “We’ve been together for years. It feels like we’re married. We just haven’t quite gotten to the nitty gritty paperwork yet.” On Earth and in reality at least.

“Wow,” Lena laughed but she was smiling. “Is he anti-alien then?”

“No, no, he’s as pro-alien as I am,” Kara shook her head. “We both think Alien Amnesty is a good thing, but, he reminded me there ARE bad aliens out there to be considered.”

“Well, I'm glad you can see from my point of view,” Lena remarked, growing thoughtful. “You know, when I was first adopted by the Luthors, I adored Lex. When he showed his true colors, I was crushed. I tried everything to reach him, bring him back to the side of good. But it was no use. I'd lost him. Finally, I realized that some people are just bad. And there is nothing you can do to change that. But, you can learn to protect yourself.”

Kara nodded. “That’s mostly what Mo…Mike,” she supplied quickly, thinking of the first male name that started with an M to give her. “Mike, said to me.”

“This Mike sounds like a smart guy,” Lena remarked.

Kara smiled at that. “He's amazing.”

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

“Hey,” Kara murmured as she came up behind Mon-El at her loft, the man still at her laptop, although she was surprised to see he had articles about the government and history of presidents open instead of Supergirl there. She rested her hands on his shoulders, squeezing them as she leaned down to press a kiss to the top of his head.

“Missed you,” Mon-El remarked as he leaned back to look up at her, earning a kiss from her on his lips as well.

“I’m sorry I had to leave,” she mumbled, kissing him again. She was becoming more and more aware of the fact that she really did crave his touch with every hour she spent away from him. So with that in mind, she turned and maneuvered herself onto his lap, lightly resting her arms around his neck while he wound his around her waist.

“You have responsibilities on Earth,” he waved it off. “As much as I want to keep you all to myself, I’d never force you to stay.”

"Believe me, I have to force myself to go," she told him. She had to smile at his words, he never forced her to do anything she didn’t want to do, had never tried to stop her doing something she wanted to do unless he really felt it was too dangerous and even then he never forbid her do it, just talked with her, worked out a game plan incase it did go south so she’d still be ok.

“And speaking of responsibilities,” Mon-El continued, pulling her attention back from where her gaze had drifted to his lips and up to his eyes. “Supergirl? Who is she?”

“Me,” Kara answered.

He gave her a look, half playful and half accusing. “You know what I meant.”

She sighed, she’d been dreading this conversation. “When I landed on Earth,” she began. “It didn’t take long to realize that I had powers due to the Yellow Sun. I could run faster, I could fly, I had superstrength…”

“What else can you do?” Mon-El asked, genuinely curious.

“Heat vision, freeze breath, invulnerability to everything but Kryptonite…”

“Kryptonite?”

“It’s a green rock that landed on Earth from Krypton. When it’s near me, it’s like all the power I have just starts to go away. It makes me weak, makes me feel ill, like a poison. There’s also Red Kryptonite…”

Mon-El frowned as he watched her trail off, looking away from him and down, her entire expression morphing into one of shame. “Hey,” he whispered, reaching out to gently tilt her head back to him. “What is it?”

Kara swallowed hard and the tears in her eyes nearly broke his heart. “Red Kryptonite affects me in…terrible ways,” she spoke, her voice so soft and full of tears that his chest constricted to hear her so pained. “It forces every dark and horrible thought I’ve ever had to the surface, makes me not care about other people. It’s like all the rage and the anger and the…the hate that I feel just gets pushed out of me and I turn into something…someone I’m not proud of. Someone I’m ashamed of. I HURT people when I’m affected by Red K.”

Mon-El was silent, allowing her to gather herself again before he lightly pulled her in closer, hugging her tightly. “I know you, Kara,” he murmured in her ears. “You are the least horrible person I know. You could never harm someone, even if they’d harmed you first. It sounds like Ragestos.”

Kara shivered in his arms at the mention of that drug, one that existed on Daxam. It was one of their forbidden drugs, ones that were never to be used and were punishable by death to administer or take willingly. It was just like the first four letters, rage, it created such an intense feeling of rage that the person it affected became hostile, violent, murderous at times. She had, thankfully, never experienced any case of it while she’d been on Daxam, but it had come up when they’d been sifting through the list of all the chemicals Daxam had used or still used while they were attempting to create restrictions for the drug use. The Red K hadn’t been quite that bad, but if it hadn’t been stopped and washed out of her when it had, she dreaded to think what she could have turned into.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Mon-El continued, gently pulling her back to look at her intently, willing her to see the firm belief in his eyes at what he was saying. “It was a drug, not you. Your heart is too gentle to ever do something like that of your own volition.”

“Thank you,” she leaned in to kiss him again for his words. Alex had told her that repeatedly after it happened, as had J’onn, but…somehow it meant more when Mon-El said it. Not because she loved him more or his opinion mattered more to her but…he was the only one that actually had experience with drugs like that. He was the only one that understood what chemicals FELT like and how they altered you. J’onn and Alex didn’t, they couldn’t understand what it felt like to go through that, Mon-El could.

“Any other Kryptonites I should keep on the lookout for?” Mon-El asked, a teasing note in his voice to try and lessen the tension.

She smiled. “No.” Or at least none she’d had experience with.

“So, see a glowing green or red rock, hurl it into the sun? Sound about right?”

Kara laughed. “Yeah.”

“And any other abilities I should know about?” Mon-El continued, getting them back to their original topic.

“Nope.”

Mon-El smiled as she leaned in, about to kiss him again, but he placed a finger to her lips to still her, laughing a little when she pouted at his action. “We do need to talk about Supergirl,” he reminded her. 

“Really DO hate it when you act all responsible,” she muttered.

He leaned in to kiss her this time. “No, you don’t.”

She had to sigh, she really didn’t…but she really DID love it, and it was a problem, because every time she saw him being the responsible king it did things to her…and she wasn’t sure her broken bed could survive another round if he kept this up.

“What do you want to know about her?”

“Everything,” he answered. “I know Kara Zor-El. I’m experiencing Kara Danvers. But I only get glimpses of Supergirl.”

“Supergirl is…a disguise I wear,” Kara offered. “When my powers first came out, I had to hide them. A 12 year old girl able to lift a tree off someone would be a little suspicious to humans. I was so scared that I’d be found out and taken away from the Danvers, studied or something worse, I hid them. I hid them for years, until Alex was in danger and I just couldn’t hide them anymore. I saved her and revealed a part of myself that eventually became Supergirl, Hero of Earth.”

Mon-El nodded at that, trying to follow along. “The outfit you wear?”

“Is part of the disguise. I don’t want people to know Kara Danvers is Supergirl, so I wear that outfit instead. It’s something Superheroes do on this planet, they create an outfit that can withstand fighting crime and only wear that, so that the public can recognize them.”

“An outfit that can withstand fighting crime?” He lifted an eyebrow at that, not demanding an answer but telling her he wanted more about that.

She winced, that was the part she was really dreading. “I’m invulnerable,” she started, wanting him to understand just how little danger she was actually in when she faced down her enemies. “That means nothing on this planet can hurt me.”

“Except Kryptonite.”

“Except Kryptonite,” she agreed. “If a human tries to punch me, I don’t feel a thing. I…I haven’t been able to feel anyone’s touch in…a long time.” She rested both her hands on his cheeks, lightly stroking them as she smiled sadly at that fact. “I can feel yours.”

“…because I’m just as strong as you?” He tried to follow, tried to remain focused on his conversation and not the sensation of Kara’s touch.

Kara snorted at that. “Maybe one day you’ll be as strong as me,” she teased.

“Yes, one of the doctors at your DEO mentioned I hadn’t been giving off as much yellow sun radiation as Supergirl.” He reached out to gently wrap his hands around her wrists, not pulling her away, but giving her wrists a light squeeze that had her smiling as she felt even that.

“I can still feel you,” she reassured him, seeing it in his eyes that he was worried his touch wouldn’t be as truly felt as she claimed. “I think last night proved just how much.”

He burst out laughing as she tried to wiggle her eyebrows at him. “Last night might have actually topped our first claiming.”

“I consider it topped,” Kara offered with a shrug. “Since I wore you out this time.”

“Like they said, I haven’t absorbed as much energy as you have, cheater. Give it time and once I’m full irradiated, we’ll see who can wear the other out.”

“I look forward to that,” Kara remarked, biting her lip just in the thought of it, trying to hold back a smirk at how Mon-El’s eyes darted to her lips at the move.

“You’re cheating again,” he spoke, his voice hoarse as he tried to clear it.

“Am I?” she challenged, moving a little on his lap...to make herself more comfortable of course, not to cheat or anything. 

Oh she was, she so was cheating. She was trying to distract him from the conversation, turn his mind to other activities that she really would rather engage in with her mate than sit there talking about something she was hoping he wouldn’t react poorly to. If she had to pull out every dirty trick she had to seduce him, she’d do it.

He leaned in and kissed her, one of his hands coming up to disappear into her hair as he deepened it, letting it go long enough till he heard her give a faint moan in the back of her throat, felt her leaning more into him, her hand gripping his hair as she loved to do…

Before he pulled away with a smirk. “Two can play at that game,” he warned. “Talking first, then bedroom.”

She groaned as she dropped her forehead to his shoulder. “I’m your mate, be nice to me.”

He laughed softly in her ear, turning his head to kiss her temple quickly. “You were the one tormenting me first. Sitting on my lap, biting your sinful lips…all’s fair in love and war.”

Kara sighed but pulled back, deciding against trying another trick on him. Just as she knew all his weaknesses when it came to her, he knew hers as well. And he had had years on her of honing his seduction skills. He would find a way to draw the truth out of her, in the most pleasurable ways, but if they were going to have this conversation, she wanted to at least be coherent during it and not having all of it slip out in her delirium of passion.

“Supergirl is a hero to the people of National City,” she spoke. “She uses her powers to help fight crime, both human and alien, from…from getting a cat out of a tree to stopping armed robberies, from aliens attacking the president to invasions. She does whatever she can to protect the humans.”

“She?”

Kara looked down at that, at how he’d caught her minor slip. She was talking about herself, but she was referring to herself as a third person.

“She’s a part of me,” she tried to explain. “But she’s not all of me. Supergirl is a mask I wear to help people without them knowing it’s me.” She let out a small, almost sad laugh. “Even Kara Danvers is a mask I wear so people don’t know I’m an alien.”

Mon-El looked at her for a long while, processing what she’d revealed. “Kara…how long have you kept Kara Zor-El locked away?”

That was the crux of it. She had landed on Earth as Kara Zor-El and been told she couldn’t BE her anymore or she’d be discovered. Kara Zor-El was an alien. Kara Danvers was her human persona. Supergirl was close to being her alien persona, but still wasn’t HER. She was the hero, the one that lived only in her powers but none of the culture or memory of her past that went with being alien. Supergirl was the result of the Yellow Sun, not who Kara Zor-El was.

Kara looked away at that. “Too long.”

“13 years?” Mon-El guessed, Kara was silent. “Hey.” He reached out to turn her head back to him again. “I know Kara Zor-El. I love Kara Zor-El. I’m sure I’ll love Kara Danvers and Supergirl too, they’re a part of you, but Kara Zor-El is all of you, who you are on the inside, not what you show the world and not the powers the world gave to you. You can always be Kara Zor-El around me, always.”

Kara felt tears come to her eyes at that, at his declaration. Even around the Danvers she hadn’t been able to be Kara Zor-El. She’d been so focused on trying to fit in and learn about Earth so as not to get caught, she’d barely talked about her planet around them, because it was just too dangerous. If she started talking to them, she might slip around others. Even around J’onn and the DEO, she was Supergirl, not Kara Zor-El. She’d had to bury a part of her, who she really was, to blend in on Earth and she hadn’t even realized how badly it was hurting her till now. Till she’d had that entire life, all those 13 years being Kara Zor-El and to wake up and be reminded she’d have to bury her again.

She didn’t want to bury her. She WAS Kara Zor-El and now she had a mate that knew her, all of her, who she really was on the inside. He knew her planet, her language, her customs, how that had all affected her growing up. He knew her heart, mind, and soul, and she didn’t want to bury that under the Kara Danvers mask again.

With him she could be herself, entirely.

“Thank you, zhor,” she murmured, kissing him gently.

Mon-El hummed in pleasure as he pulled away, giving her a soft smile. “We don’t seem to have a great record with keeping on track in this conversation.”

Kara had to laugh at that. “That’s pretty much it,” she offered. “Supergirl is the hero of the city, using her powers to do good.”

Mon-El looked at her, his expression growing serious. “Are you in any danger, being Supergirl?”

She took a breath, not about to lie. “Some aliens pose a threat to me,” she explained. “If they have super strength. But I’ve learned to fight and protect myself on Earth. The humans? They are barely a threat to me. Like I said, punch me and they break their own hand. Fire a weapon and it bounces off me. I could walk through a burning building and come out perfectly fine. I AM fine, Mon-El,” she assured him. “So long as there’s no Kryptonite, which is not at all easy to get a hold of, I’m fine. I’m not in any real danger. I wouldn’t put myself out there if I was actually going to be in any.”

“I doubt Alex would let you go out there if you were,” Mon-El remarked, thinking of how protective Alex had been of just HIM being near Kara.

Kara smiled and nodded, her heart racing at the realization that he was taking this much better than she thought he would. “She would lock me away somewhere not even Supergirl could escape if it was a danger to me.”

Mon-El let out a breath. “I’m not happy that you could be in even a little danger, that other aliens can hurt you,” he told her. “But…this is part of the life you had on Earth before we began. It’s something you are clearly passionate about and determined to see through, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I never stood a chance of dissuading you on Daxam, my chances of doing that here are smaller, aren’t they?”

“In this situation, yes.”

“You have always wanted to help people,” he smiled at her. “Even people who weren’t your own.”

“The Daxamites became my people the moment we said out vows,” Kara stated, firm in her belief. She had gotten to understand their culture, understand their ways, and through that they became like her people, she had fought for them on Daxam, to free them and make a better world.

“I know,” he reassured her. “Here, you have more power to actually DO things to help instead of fighting from behind the written word…which you also do as Kara Danvers.” He chuckled at that. “I would never stop you fighting for what you believe in.”

“Thank you, zhor,” she murmured.

“But…” Mon-El warned lightly, reaching up to touch her cheek, staring deep into her eyes. “I need you to promise me, miar. I need you to _promise me_ that you will be careful, that if there is even a hint you could be hurt or injured or in any true danger, you step back. I won’t ask you not to help, or to give up, but I am asking you to come up with a plan, to get more help, to protect yourself until I can help protect you.”

Kara blinked at that, her heart racing again. “You…want to be a hero too?”

“I don’t know enough about what heroes do to say it,” he told her. “I don’t know what my abilities are or if they’d help you or hinder you. But I do know I will always want to protect you and keep you safe. And if becoming a hero means I can do that, I won’t say no.”

Kara was sure the old her, had she heard something like that, would have fumed and ranted about how selfish the Daxamite was that he only wanted to be a hero to protect HER and not because he genuinely wanted to keep others, humans, safe or that he thought she was weak or needed protecting. But this Kara heard more than that. Mon-El had fought tooth and nail to better the lives of his people, but he’d been the king then, had had the power to do the changes he wanted with minimal opposition. Here he was on a new world with new customs and new responsibilities and expectations that would take time to learn and get used to. These weren’t his people yet. He would likely want to protect them because they were important to HER, but he hadn’t had enough time to form as deep a bond with the idea of humanity as she had. He loved her and he wanted her to be safe, was that such a bad thing? She felt the exact same way about him, she would have done the exact same too.

She wasn’t going to berate him for his reasons behind maybe wanting to become a hero, not when his time on Earth was so new and especially not after he’d literally lost ALL of his own people, when she was all he had left. Whether he became a hero or not, and for whatever reason, she would support him as he had always supported her.

“I promise you, Mon-El,” she swore, taking the hand on her cheek to kiss his palm. “I will always be careful, more than ever.”

“That’s all I ask.”

He wasn’t happy about the idea of his mate being put in harms way, for humans no less. But he knew she cared about the species, her sister was one of them, and she had clearly been doing this a while. She wouldn’t have taken up the mantel of Supergirl and done all she had, from what he’d read in the articles about her, if she didn’t care for them or think they were worth protecting. His mate had always wanted the best for the people around her, and this was her way to do it on a planet where she wasn’t the Queen any longer. Even before they met in their own personal dream world, she had wanted to make change happen and keep others safe. He couldn’t be angry with her for that, for such a noble and very Kara cause.

But he could ask that she keep herself safe first and foremost. After all, if this Supergirl got harmed and was unable to defend people, then her entire purpose for existing would be destroyed. Supergirl existed to help the people, if she was injured she wouldn’t be able to. He knew, when Kara got passionate about something, it was best to appeal to her logic to help her see through that haze. He was just being more selfish than the situation would call for.

Supergirl was a part of Kara, and if Supergirl was harmed, then his mate was harmed and that was the last thing he wanted. He didn’t know what sort of person she was when she was in her hero-mode, when she was in the heat of a situation, if she was rational or reckless. The articles he read were quite glorified retellings of her past adventures and likely glossed over many details. 

He would keep an eye on her temperament and personality as Supergirl and see how she dealt with things, if she inadvertently put herself in too much danger. 

And if that meant he would have to become a hero just like her, to keep both Supergirl and his mate safe, he would do it in half a heartbeat.

“Now,” Kara murmured, pulling him from his thoughts to see a sly grin on her face. “Are we done being serious?” She let her hand trail down from his face to his chest, applying just a little more pressure so he could really feel her tracing his muscles, her hand moving down and down and...

Mon-El merely stood with Kara in his arms, earning a squeal from her before he supersped them to the bedroom. 

As much as she loved him being responsible, he really did love it when her playful side came out. 

…he just hoped her poor bed could stand up to it.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Mon-El smiled as he watched the President finish her speech of thanks and gratitude to the DEO for all their help and support in catching the rogue that had been after her. An alien that held heat powers, able to conjure fire and laser vision among other things. His gaze, however, was on Kara as she stood at the forefront with J’onn and Alex, the three of them having been at the headline of catching the alien in question. From what he knew, as he'd been getting even more tests done by the DEO at the time, the President had set up to sign her Alien Amnesty Act with the DEO and Supergirl there all on alert and ready to take out the alien that was after her. The President had even gone so far as to suggest herself that they use this moment to act as bait and lure the alien out. And it had worked flawlessly. Supergirl had been so focused and ready that the moment the attack happened, she had been able to target the alien and deal with her. It had been one from an alien bar Alex had gone to an earlier night with a police officer, whatever that was, and had managed to alert Supergirl that she had fire power. Supergirl had used her speed and flight to create a cyclone, sucking the air away from the alien and snuffing out her power long enough for the DEO to take her down. And now the President was thanking them for it.

Kara was every bit as regal and modest as she had ever been on Daxam, smiling politely but holding herself back from the praise. He felt a twinge of hurt at that, at how she’d come to react like that to the praises of others. The court of Daxam hadn’t been welcoming of her as his mate, even less so as his mate, and many of their “compliments” and “praises” were backhanded and insults in disguise. She’d learned not to take their words to heart and somehow that had translated into taking any sort of praise from those she didn’t know with almost too much modesty. When he or Dar-Blaine, or one of the servants and slaves, a handful of Daxamites she had managed a tentative friendship with, complimented or praised her, she knew it was genuine, but she was never sure when it came to others.

In the end it had made her better in the eyes of his people, they started to see her less and less as an arrogant Kryptonian in how she took praises with humbleness. She hadn’t been the only one affected in that area, he’d become more aware of just how empty the compliments and praises given to himself were. It had gotten to a point where Kara’s opinion of him was the only one that mattered to him. Well, hers and Dar’s, but mostly hers.

“And a very personal thank you to both of you,” the president spoke as she took J’onn and Kara’s hands, leading them through the mass of people towards the back where he’d been standing, wanting more to observe than be at the front of the action. There was still so much to learn about Earth and it was harder to watch when you were too close.

“It was an honor, Madam President,” Kara stated humbly. “It was nothing more than us doing our duty.”

“And you, Mon-El of Daxam,” the President startled him by approaching him. “I am very glad to have met you. Our discussions on the difference between a monarchy and my country were insightful as were your opinions on the Amnesty Act.”

Mon-El offered her a smile in return. “Thank you, Madam President, for explaining to me how a democratic republic works. Perhaps it would have been possible to convert Daxam in that direction over time.”

Maybe it would have been a better option than how he and Kara had managed to set it up as a full democracy. It might have made the transition easier, to go from a king in charge to a president of sorts. Kept himself in power more as a leader with others having equal power to create an effect. 

His smile faltered at the reminder that it didn’t matter much now, his planet was gone, he’d never actually done ANY of that for his people.

Kara seemed to sense exactly where his mind had gone and stepped beside him, reaching out to take his hand as she leaned against him. He looked at her, at her concerned comet-blue eyes, and smiled at her, leaning down to rest his forehead to hers, rubbing them together just minutely, a sense of comfort and reminder they were together easing his pain. They HAD done all that for his planet, in some universe they had, and that had to be enough.

The president smiled softly as she observed them, before nodding to herself as she turned to go.

“Madam President,” J’onn called out, stopping her as she turned to face him. “I am still wary of your policy.”

“It's not enough to defend the world, J'onn, you need to live in it too,” she reminded him.

Kara nodded in agreement as they watched the president leave before the DEO agents quickly dispersed. She turned back to Mon-El, seeing him staring in the direction the woman had gone.

“What is it, zhor?" Kara asked lightly, reaching up to touch his cheek, turning him to face her.

"I've been thinking about what your president said," he began. "How she wishes to help aliens find a home here. I...I just keep thinking we CAN'T be the last survivors. There have to be more of our people out there. Kryptonians and Daxamites."

Kara inhaled deeply at that. "It's been years, Mon-El..."

"They could be on other planets," he reasoned. "Scattered, lost, trapped like we were. I...I want to send out a beacon. To what's left of Daxam and Krypton, even further, to deep space, anywhere. Just to see, just incase someone is out there listening, so they know they can come here, that we're here, that they're not alone."

It was a risk, he knew that, it was a large risk, especially if any of HIS people survived. He hadn't been lying when he'd said that, between a Kryptonian and a Daxamite, only one could be around a human and not end up hurting it. His people hadn't been in a good place, they hadn't been a good people in general. But a part of him kept thinking, if Daxam was truly in THAT bad shape, a wasteland, with the chaos of the destruction of Krypton...the chances of any having survived were low. And any that had would be in too small a number to actually DO any damage on Earth, not with Kara and the DEO, with Kal there as well (and likely having superpowers too), with all the technology, they could be stopped if they proved to be hostile and unwilling to adapt. And there was HIM. With his parents dead with his planet, HE was now in effect the King. He could command his people to obey his will if he absolutely had to, it would just depend if that ingrained loyalty and obedience to the crown would win out or not. But come what may, he would not allow any of his people to harm the Earth if he could help it. He just...he could see how much opportunity there was on Earth to live a better life, to be a better person, to live free...he wanted to share that, with any that survived. IF any had even survived. And it wasn't just his people but hers too. She had proven Kal was not the last Kryptonian by landing there decades later. He had proven they were not the last of their system in landing there years after that. Maybe there were more out there who were lost, both his people and hers, and they all deserved this second chance, a second home.

Kara could only nod at that, understanding. She had had years to come to terms with the loss of Krypton and the knowledge that she and Kal were the only ones left. But...being in that dream world, waking up to Mon-El really having survived...that was proof enough, wasn't it? That there COULD be others out there, trapped in the Phantom Zone or another place where time held no meaning, like the Well of Stars, or even settled on another planet. Her parents COULDN'T have been the ONLY ones to realize what was happening on Krypton. What if others escaped? What if they were just lost?

If the President's act had done anything, it was to renew her hope of Earth being a new home to lost aliens.

"Ok," she told him. "We'll get Winn to send out a beacon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there might be a few questions about what happened to Winn during the last chapter since he seems to sort of disappear after asking about Kara's article. I can say we'll see his reaction and thoughts in the next few chapters. One reason he didn't say anything or outwardly react has a lot to do with just how shocked he was to hear Kara say what she did ;-) Imagine how awkward Alex felt to walk in on it, but with Winn just HEARING about it lol ;-)
> 
> As for the beacon...I think we all know that will one day come back to bite them in the behinds ;-)
> 
> I really wanted Kara and Mon-El to be able to talk about her being Supergirl and what it meant, to see his take on her heroics and his own thoughts on possibly being one himself. I feel like his reasons behind it wouldn't change much as in the show, he wants to help HER keep the world spinning and he always seems more focused on protecting HER than other civilians. Here, he's been a hero to his people in a dream world, he's more open to the idea of being a hero and doing what he can to protect someone he loves. WHEN he'll start his training we'll have to wait and see ;-)


	17. Tests and Cheating

Mon-El was beaming even as he entered the DEO bright and early with Kara. It was odd, the sensation of waking up on Earth, of waking up so early. On Daxam, as the king, he could set his own schedule, sleep as late as he and Kara wanted. Even as the prince, he would sleep in and shirk his duties, or be so drunk he overslept among other things. But on Earth he was finding himself waking up earlier than he’d have liked. 

Oddly he felt alright with that. For one, the sun’s radiation was clearly starting to have an impact as he felt more energized than he could remember feeling, which Kara had told him was normal. For another…KARA had more energy on Earth and was used to waking up with the sun, which meant he ended up with quite the wake up call. They had both seemed to balance each other in terms of who woke up first on Daxam and he was used to the methods she’d use to guide him into wakefulness. It depended on her mood. Sometimes she was playful and would tease him awake, other times she would observe him and lightly trace his face, one or two times when he’d done something to anger her or the situation frustrated her she would create the loudest noise she could to jar him up, and then there were times she would hit him with a pillow in a laugh that sent them into a fight with them. So far, Earth had put her in quite the playful mood.

It didn’t surprise him as much as it might have in the past, comparing her to how she was on Krypton to Daxam. He had listened to her, to everything she said about her life on Earth, all the hints and offhanded comments she made, piecing together her life as he went. She had hidden so much of herself on Earth, so much of who she was, just for being alien. At least on Daxam, his people knew what hers were like, she never had to pretend to be anything she wasn’t. But on Earth? She kept everything about herself a secret and created masks just to adapt. He wouldn’t blame her for being thrilled he was real and that she could truly be herself with him. If it had been him, he’d be playful and happy and ecstatic as well.

“I am honestly surprised your couch held up,” Mon-El remarked as they laced their fingers together, walking through the building, not talking loudly.

“Me too,” Kara had to giggle. She’d managed to find a steel-reinforced bed on a nearly-medical website intended for humans that were dangerously overweight. They had christened it last night and were very pleased that it lasted, but before that they had plopped down on her couch from assembling it to relax and gotten carried away before they remembered the bed was ready to be used again. She really was shocked the couch had lasted during even that small romp.

“I am very glad the bed is holding up though,” he added.

“Me too,” Kara couldn’t help but repeat, just thinking about what would come from that. She hadn’t gotten her reward yet, but she was looking forward to it one night soon.

“I am sorry we broke it in the first place…”

“Who broke what?” a voice interrupted and they looked up to realize they’d made it all the way to the control room without realizing. Winn had spoken, looking an odd combination of concerned and uncomfortable, as though the words had slipped out before he could stop himself.

“Nothing,” Kara answered quickly, shooting Mon-El a sly smile.

Alex rolled her eyes but was actually smiling which Mon-El took as a good sign, especially considering how J’onn seemed unamused.

“If we could focus,” J’onn cut in. “Agent Schott here has set up a number of tests for you to complete, Mon-El,” he began. “These tests are to assess your abilities here on Earth and determine the extent of them.”

Mon-El actually pouted at that. “I always hated tests. Never passed any unless I cheated.”

Kara snorted at his words, a small smile on her face. She knew exactly what tests he was talking about. The years he’d spent in the Well of Stars under the guidance of his tutors. He had been stuck there years longer than he should have because they and his parents were not happy with the answers he gave to his reports and tests. His “cheating” was writing what he knew they wanted to hear instead of what he really thought.

“It won’t be anything like those tests,” she promised jokingly. “Some of them are even fun. Like a game.”

Mon-El nodded at that, before a thought struck him. “Do they have Garata here?”

“What’s Garata?” Alex asked before Kara could answer.

“It’s like soccer with dragons,” she replied.

“No, none of that,” Winn offered. “Um, we have PlayStation?”

“What’s that?”

“Agent Schott,” J’onn cut in, seeing Winn nearly lighting up from the chance to explain what one of his beloved games and playing consoles were. “I am tasking you with assessing the full range of his powers, I expect professionalism during this time.”

Winn sighed. “Yes, sir.”

“Good,” J’onn nodded as he glanced at them. “Now I have somewhere I need to be.”

“Where are you headed?” Alex called after him as he actually turned to go.

“It’s personal.”

Alex seemed surprised at that. “I didn't know he did anything personal,” she remarked, before her phone went off.

Mon-El glanced over at Winn as he examined his datapad. “Speaking of personal,” he stepped closer to the man. “You were the one to send out the beacon?”

Winn looked up. “Yes?”

Mon-El smiled. “Thank you.” He moved like he was going to shake Winn’s hand, before he thought better of it with his untested strength. “I know it may be a long shot, but has there been any response?” He glanced at Kara, seeing her guarded expression, knowing she wanted to hope, but was being realistic. “I mean, we can't be the only ones left, right?”

Winn could only offer a regretful smile. “I’m sorry, nothing so far.”

“Right,” Mon-El murmured, nodding.

Kara squeezed his hand once more and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “I’m sorry, zhor.”

He smiled back at her. “It’s alright,” he remarked, resting his forehead to hers. “There’s always hope. You taught me that.”

Kara started to smile more at that when Alex hurried over. “Hey, sorry to cut in,” the woman spoke. “But I just got a report of a dead alien, and I think Supergirl might be helpful in identifying it.”

Kara sighed, but grew serious. This wasn’t like before, where it was her going on an interview with a woman whose brother had tried to kill her cousin numerous times. This was an alien, one of her people, killed and if one turned up dead she dreaded to think another would sooner than later. It was better to deal with this quickly. And Mon-El would be at the DEO, he’d be safe, he’d be with Winn just testing his strength and skills.

“Go on, Supergirl,” Mon-El teased, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “Maybe when you get back I’ll be proven stronger than you.”

Kara scoffed playfully at that and punched his arm, laughing when he rubbed it before she turned to walk off with Alex.

Mon-El turned back to see Winn was watching Kara go with an odd expression, fidgeting and shifting back and forth on his feet. “Are you alright?”

Winn’s head shot over to him, the man forcing a smile as he seemed to grow more uncomfortable being alone with him as the seconds went by. “Peachy keen.”

“What’s a peachy keen?”

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

“Agent Schott!” J’onn’s voice boomed through the DEO as he strode to the main control center to see Alex and Winn speaking quietly together. He’d just barely heard Alex asking him about a Brevakk when he approached. “Aren’t you supposed to be testing our Daxamite friend?”

“Um, yes,” Winn winced. “Yes. Um…about that…I um, there was something I needed to discuss with you and…”

“Spit it out, Agent Schott.”

“Ok, um, you see…I managed to run a few preliminary tests and, so far, they have Mon-El rating at say, level 5 but um…there seems to be an outlier variable where he rates much higher…at the same tests.”

Alex frowned at that. “How’s that possible?”

Winn looked distinctly uncomfortable.

“Agent Schott.”

He sighed at J’onn’s tone. “Ok. Um. Mon-El seems to push harder whenever Kara’s watching!” There, he said it.

But it was true. He’d tested Mon-El’s speed when it was just the two of them, and he’d been going at a steady pace, but the second Kara stepped into the room after getting back from investigating the body with Alex and then stopping in at CatCo, it was like Mon-El forced himself to go faster. And it wasn’t just that, it happened even when he repeated the earlier tests, wanting to be sure.

J’onn sighed at that, rubbing his head. “Then ensure Supergirl is present during all testing.”

“What?!” Winn looked incredibly uncomfortable now. “Um, sir, do you…is that really a good idea? Kara has work at CatCo, she was talking about an article she has to write, and we don’t know how long the testing can take and…”

“We need an accurate gauge of his abilities,” J’onn cut in. “If the only way we can ascertain that is with her present, she must be present. We cannot have him holding back.”

“Yes sir,” Winn nearly whined.

“What?” Alex seemed amused at his reaction. “He making you feel all feeble human?”

“No, nothing like that it’s just…well…” he struggled to speak. “As Mon-El’s test results increase…so does the probability of him taking his shirt off.”

Alex blinked at that. “I’m sorry?”

“Yeah!” Winn pointed at her for her reaction. “And the way Kara looks at him when he does? I SO don’t need to be in the room and watch her actually devour him and…”

“Winn,” Alex cut in now, pinching the bridge of her nose as his words caught up to her. “Is Kara in the training room with Mon-El right now?”

“…yes?”

Alex let out a huff and turned to stalk down the hall, Winn rushing after her as she strode right to the training room and shoved the door open.

“Seriously?!” she shouted at her sister as Kara shot up from where she’d been standing behind Mon-El as he sat on a small stool, having been leaning over him and nibbling at his ear.

Alex could see that Mon-El was bare from the chest up, Kara’s one hand was on his shoulder while the other was very clearly exploring his chest. Kara didn’t even step back aside from straightening up, just moved to drape her arms around Mon-El’s shoulders from behind.

“Alex, you’re back?” Kara asked, only to let out a surprised squeal when Mon-El used her arms to tug her forward and onto his lap, earning a laugh afterwards.

Alex rolled her eyes. “Isn’t he supposed to be going through some tests right now?” She crossed her arms, channeling every bit of the “older sister” vibe she could.

Mon-El just smiled. “I was.”

“He was!” Kara defended. “But he um…pulled a muscle.”

“It was very painful.”

“And I, being the wonderful mate I am, offered to help him work out the kinks.”

“Kara has a magic touch.”

“Yes, and I was just helping him feel better.”

“By copping a feel?” Alex deadpanned.

“I’ll have you know I was being very professional,” Kara stated, turning her nose up, and smiling the second Mon-El pressed a kiss to the underside of her jaw for it. 

“She was,” Mon-El defended this time. “She was being very…thorough.”

“See,” Kara stated.

Alex wasn’t sure whether to be amused or annoyed by that. On one hand, it was refreshing and reassuring to see Kara so happy and confident, so comfortable with someone else. But on another hand, they really WERE trying to get Mon-El’s testing over with. Granted not much could be done without Winn in the room…

And now she could see why he wanted out so badly. Kara had turned back to Mon-El and was gently running her hand along his bare shoulder, up and down his neck, squeezing the line between that and his shoulder gently and entirely too sensually to be a real massage to work out a kink. Mon-El was no better, grinning at Kara, his hands on her waist as he lightly squeezed at her sides and tugged her closer. And she also understood why Winn was hesitant to want Kara in the same room as Mon-El while the testing was going on.

Kara was clearly getting very distracted by Mon-El’s bare chest, and Mon-El was clearly enjoying the attention. The harder his pushed himself, the more affected Kara would be. It was a game, she realized, they were playing a game with each other, like humans did sometimes. The men showing off their strength for the girls and the girls enjoying the view. 

Alex huffed and walked forward, taking Kara’s arm and tugging, relieved when her sister stood up with her instead of remaining on Mon-El’s lap. She lead Kara over to a corner of the room. “Now, you are going to STAY right here while Winn conducts Mon-El’s tests,” she told them.

“Alex,” Kara sighed. “I really was just stopping in to check how he was doing. I didn’t mean to disrupt the…”

“J’onn has given strict orders that Supergirl is to remain in the training room for the duration of the testing,” Alex cut in.

Kara blinked at that. “Why?”

“Apparently your mate does better when he’s showing off for you.”

Kara looked over at Mon-El who didn’t appear ashamed or disagreeing with that statement at all. In fact, he was nodding along as though it made perfect sense. Kara felt herself starting to smile at the thought that he was actually showing off for her.

“And by showing off,” Alex continued, taking a breath and adding a teasing tone to her voice. “I mean showing other things off too.”

Kara’s gaze snapped back to Alex, an eyebrow lifting at her sister’s attempt at a tease. She took that as a good sign that Alex was starting to really come around to the idea of Mon-El and was ready to give him a chance if she could joke about that.

“Well I am enjoying the show,” Kara murmured, looking back over at Mon-El, letting her gaze travel up and down his body. She bit her bottom lip as she reached his eyes again, earning a wink from him. 

Winn coughed at that moment, reminding them he was still in the room with Alex, which had been odd, if Kara had to be honest. Winn often talked, a lot, more so when he was nervous or uncomfortable, but he’d just gone…quiet. She wanted to ask if he was alright, but he looked back down at his datapad.

“Guys, I don’t know about you,” he began. “But I’d like to get home sometime today, and we don’t know how long these tests could go for. We should really get started on them again.”

Alex nodded. “He’s right.” She turned back to Kara and Mon-El. “I’m going to expect the two of you to behave yourselves while I’m gone. Winn will be in charge while I investigate that alien. NO funny business,” she pointed a warning finger at both Kara and Mon-El.

“Yes, ma’am,” Mon-El saluted her as she turned to go.

“Um…” Winn asked after a moment, noticing how Kara’s gaze had been drawn back to Mon-El’s chest, staring at it unabashed. “Could you put a shirt back on?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a shorter chapter than normal, but there were some things I had outlined in the next few that felt like they needed to be grouped together so this was the best place to end for this section :-)
> 
> Kara and Mon-El are starting to notice that Winn is uncomfortable about something and he'll be talking about what that is very soon ;-) But yay Alex making an effort to give Mon-El a chance :-D


	18. You Are Not Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry for the lack of updates the last few days :-( A combination of work and life going crazy made it hard to find any time to write at all :-( I was going to leave a chapter notice up about it in one of the stories, but it's a pet peeve of mine because I always get so excited to see a new chapter and when it turns out to be a note it makes me sad :-(

Alex wasn’t sure how she felt when she saw Kara approaching her and J’onn as she came in to report her difficulties apprehending their alien suspect. She wasn’t sure if she was surprised or not to see that Kara had pulled herself away from Mon-El’s training to check in with them, which led to her feeling both guilty and not quite so at the thought that she’d actually felt Kara WOULDN’T check in on them. Her attempt at arrest had gone very badly and Kara would have wanted to make sure she was ok, of course she would. It was just…she had seemed so attached to Mon-El lately that it gave her pause.

Still, no matter if Kara was Mon-El’s “wife” now or not, she was still her sister in every way that mattered and she knew, in her heart, that Kara would always want to make sure she was ok.

J’onn, however, seemed a little less than pleased about the report. “Do we know who the men in the van were?” J’onn asked, his gruff voice cutting through her thoughts. It startled her a little, usually at some point he would ask even briefly that she was ok, he hadn’t.

“No,” she replied. “But these weren't low-rent thugs. They were definitely combat-trained. They mean business.”

“So do we,” J’onn turned to walk off. “Or have you forgotten about that?”

“Hey,” Kara cut in, reaching them but having heard the entire conversation with her superhearing. “Alex always means business. Where’s this hostility coming from?”

“Is everything alright, J'onn?” Alex gave him a concerned look. She could overlook him not asking if she was ok, but his attitude, the way he was talking to her out of nowhere, that she couldn’t ignore.

J’onn glanced at the two of them before he seemed to morph before their eyes into the J’onn they always knew. “I appreciate the concern, but I assure you, I'm fine.”

Kara gave him a disbelieving look and crossed her arms. “I don’t appreciate when people lie to me, especially people I care about.”

J’onn sighed and looked around, seeing that neither Kara nor Alex were going to let this go. He turned to lead them into one of the empty conference rooms of the DEO and turned to face them as they followed him. “I am not the last Green Martian.”

“What?” Kara gaped, so startled she dropped her arms.

He nodded. “There is another. Her name is M'gann. Megan.”

“It's a miracle, J'onn!” Alex cheered.

J’onn offered her a small smile. “I met her at that alien bar you spoke of. We talked, but I think I made a mistake.”

“Why? What happened?”

“I offered to merge with her in the Martian way.”

Kara frowned at that, seeming confused. “What do you mean by “merge with her?” she had to ask. “I get the feeling it means something VERY different than it would on Daxam or Krypton.”

J’onn gave a single huffing-chuckle. “Psychically,” he agreed. “The bond is the traditional Martian way of communicating. We…we link minds, share dreams, emotions, memories. We kept no secrets from one another. Imagine a world without ego, selfishness. Without lies.”

“It is a beautiful world,” Kara agreed.

Alex gave Kara an odd look for that, she didn’t sound like she was imagining a world without all of that, but like she actually experienced a world like that. 

J’onn cracked the smallest of smiles at the understanding in her words before it fell. “She didn't seem to think so. The moment I talked about it, she left. I am grateful to have you both in my life. I truly am. But with Martians, it's…it's different. It's deeper. Deeper than talking. Fuller. With her, there's a chance for me to live how I was meant to live.”

“We understand,” Kara assured him. “You love us like family, but sometimes even family isn’t enough. You’ve been alone for so long, having someone of your people back in your life is monumental.

Alex felt a twinge of pain at Kara’s words, not even sure if Kara realized what she’d said or how it came across. She knew Kara loved her and Eliza and Jeremiah like family, they WERE her family in every sense of the word. But Kara HAD been alone, metaphorically speaking, without contact from any of her people, even Clark, for years, over a decade really.

And maybe that was a little more for why she was so on edge around Mon-El at first. Kara had a connection to him that no one on the planet, not even Clark, would be able to muster. He knew her planet, he probably visited it or had learned about it. Even in the dream world, he would have had to learn more about Krypton on a more personal level, with his mind connected to Kara’s. He could give Kara something no one on earth could, a part of her home back. 

Mon-El could connect with Kara in a way she never could. He had suffered the same loss, their planets were sisters, and he had had years with Kara in the dream world to know her intimately, both physically and in her mind as well. Sometimes family wasn’t enough, no matter how much they helped, there was always that missing piece. Mon-El filled that spot, he was that missing piece for Kara, he was enough, he was what made it enough for Kara. And it hurt a little to know that it wasn’t her or the Danvers that had done it, but some stranger. 

Still, she tried to focus on the fact that Kara was HAPPY. Kara felt completed in a way she hadn’t before. That missing piece was filled and she was whole and happy and that meant more to her than any hurt that could come from knowing it wasn’t anything she or her family had done for her sister. Kara was happy, and that was all that mattered.

“So tell her that,” Alex offered, rejoining the conversation. “Just be honest.”

J’onn looked at the two of them a moment, thinking about their words, before he nodded, turning to leave the room once more.

Kara turned to Alex with a small smile. “You’re ok?”

Alex smiled at her concern. “Yeah. Pissed someone got the jump on me, but I’m fine.”

“Good.” Kara nodded. “I should probably…” She gestured at the door, starting to walk backwards.

“Hey,” Alex called, halting her for a moment as she crossed her arms in just a little discomfort. She wanted to have this conversation with Kara, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answers to the things she was going to ask. “A world without ego?”

Kara seemed confused for a moment before she realized what Alex was asking. She smiled softly as she recalled what J’onn had said about what Mars was like for him and his people, the connection they felt.

“It wasn’t because our minds were linked, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Kara began, knowing Alex likely thought all the things that J’onn described were a result of their minds being connected, that they HAD to share emotions and memories and so on. “I hated him at first,” she offered. “I didn’t know him from any other Daxamite, but he chose to show me who he was on the inside, when it was just the two of us. We chose to share our thoughts and feelings, chose to talk about our memories and pasts. We chose not to keep secrets from each other. It wasn’t just something that drifted from one mind to the other, but a world and a relationship we built ourselves.”

Alex nodded at that, not sure if that made her feel better or worse. On one hand, she would have loved for it to be the result of their connected minds, the feeling Kara had about the world she’d existed in. On the other hand, it was just another reminder of how meaningful the relationship Kara had with Mon-El was that her sister felt comfortable sharing that with the man, it was another reminder that her sister had grown up and opened herself up to someone that deeply.

“Do you think that will keep here?” Alex asked, this time out of genuine concern for her sister. If she thought, even for a moment, that the open and honest relationship Kara had had in the dream wasn’t going to hold strong, she would be all over Mon-El with as much threatening older sister as she could to make sure Kara didn’t get hurt.

Kara smiled, her entire expression softening as she just thought about her mate. “Yeah,” she reassured Alex. “I think it will. We have no reason to keep secrets or not talk. Especially now, there’s so much to learn about Earth, so much I have to teach him. I think this will just make us stronger.”

Alex smiled in return, relieved. “I’m glad.”

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Kara stood before a hologram of her mother in a back room of the DEO. She’d planned to head back to Winn and Mon-El, continue to watch his testing since he’d been forbidden to test without her there, but after hearing J’onn talk about his past and his planet, it made her feel a little nostalgic and just want to talk to her mother even if it was a false version of it. 

“I got my first article published,” she told the recording, not sure where to start. She wanted to gush about Mon-El, talk to her about the relationship she had created, how happy it made her. But a part of her remembered that this hologram wasn’t the mother from her dreams, wasn’t the one that had created the marriage agreement with Daxam and had likely been programmed to hate the planet.

“I am pleased for you, Kara,” it spoke.

“Thanks. I have another idea for an article but I don't think my new boss is too keen on it. Or me, for that matter. Reporting is harder than it looks. And I thought it was gonna be really hard. But I'm trying.”

“Remember to always believe in yourself, my daughter.”

“Yeah,” Kara sighed, feeling the familiar ache in her chest start to form at the clear reminder this was just a hologram and not a real person. She started to smile though, because that ache was dulled with the reminder that she DID have a real person she could go to now that knew her mother, or a version of her, and knew enough about her to know what she would have said. “Thanks for the advice.”

She had just turned to shut the hologram down and go find Mon-El when the man of her thoughts entered the room.

“Wow,” he murmured, moving over to her side and winding an arm around her, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I can see the resemblance.”

Kara let out a small giggle at how Mon-El was looking back and forth from the projection to her with a soft smile. In the dream, her parents had aged as they normally would have, so the hologram seemed to be a younger version of her mother to him. 

“Winn finish setting up the next tests?” she asked. That had been one reason she’d left the training room before to check on Alex, they’d finished a round of tests and Winn needed a moment to set up the next one. Winn had tried to be subtle in his request that she head out and stretch her legs instead of stay in the room with him and Mon-El, tried being the operative word, so she’d humored him and gone to check in with J’onn and Alex.

“Yeah,” Mon-El told her. “He did. But he also said I should chillax for five. Whatever that means.”

“It means,” Kara murmured, turning to drape her arms around his shoulders, smiling at him. “That we get a whole five minutes to ourselves.”

Mon-El grinned at that, his eyes flickering to her lips before he leaned in to press a gentle kiss to hers. Kara chased after his lips as they broke away but he leaned back. “I feel awkward doing this in front of your mother,” he whispered to her playfully, nodding his head to the projection. 

“She’s not real,” Kara reminded him, trying to kiss him again and managing to do it for all of five seconds before he pulled back again, making her pout.

He chuckled at her expression. “But she does have all her thoughts and knowledge,” he countered. “Makes her realer than if she was a picture. And I doubt she’d want to see her daughter being seduced by the Prince of Daxam.” He was really trying to keep his thoughts separate, to remind himself he was the Prince in this world, not the king.

Kara opened her mouth to say something but the hologram activated at his words. “Daxam. Sister world to Krypton. A race of bullies and hedonists, committed only to their own pleasure…” Kara quickly turned to shut it down. “They are selfish…”

“Sorry about that,” Kara apologized with a small wince. 

“Hey,” Mon-El gave her a quick kiss. “It’s alright. Not a very apt description but understandable for this world.”

“How so?” Kara teased, smiling again from the kiss he’d given her. 

“Well, bullies, ok. Hedonists, of course. But I think we can both agree that I am not committed JUST to my own pleasure.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, making her laugh heartily at that even as she nodded her agreement. He always, always made sure that things felt good for her, that she was happy and at peace and pleased, first and foremost before himself. “Selfish…yeah, I can see that.” He smiled down at her, winding his arms more tightly around her waist to tug her closer. “When it comes to you especially, miar.”

Kara leaned in and kissed him again, very happy when he didn’t pull back after the first few seconds but instead deepened it. If she had heard him talking like that before they’d met in the dream world, she had no doubts she would have been very vocal about how “bad” that was for his planet to be labeled like that, probably would have felt justified in the hatred she had once felt for Daxamites because he was admitting to all those terrible qualities. 

But she had lived among them now. She knew not all of them were bullies, mostly the noble houses who had gotten corrupted by the power they held. She knew that being a hedonist wasn’t as bad a thing as her people had made them out to be and she knew that Daxamites were very set on reciprocated pleasure, not just pleasure for themselves. There were different levels of being selfish as well and being selfish didn’t make someone an inherently bad person. Whenever her mind drifted to how she might have reacted to things he said or did before she’d gotten to know him in the dream, she felt even more grateful the dream had happened. Imagining herself treating the man she loved that way broke her heart.

“I take it this is a private place?” Mon-El murmured against her lips.

Kara nodded, effectively breaking the kiss, much to her disappointment. “Sometimes I just like to come in here to tell her about my day,” she offered, knowing he was asking both as a personal question to her and also a confirmation that they weren’t about to be walked in on. “I know it's not really her, but it used to make me feel less…”

“Alone?” he guessed, she nodded. “Well,” he reached up to touch her cheek, smiling at her. “Now that I’m here, I’ll do my best to make you feel less alone.”

“You already are,” she told him, squeezing her arms around his neck just a little more. “Even just doing this, hugging me, holding me. I can FEEL it here.”

He nodded at that, understanding. He had discovered that as well, when he woke up, that he didn’t feel anyone else’s touch but Kara’s. Even shaking the president’s hand, trying to make his strength less, he hadn’t felt the grip. But Kara? He could feel her and he was infinitely thankful for that.

“I’m glad you can, babe.”

Kara blinked at that, startled. “What?”

Mon-El frowned. “I asked Winn what you call beautiful women on Earth and he said babe was one…was that wrong?”

Kara bit her lip to try and keep the smile off her face, knowing he’d asked that question just to know what he could call HER. He had done that on Daxam too, whenever they had visiting dignitaries from other planets, he would casually ask them about their language and words for beautiful women, and then proceed to call her that every so often. Somehow he always managed to steer a conversation to that topic. 

“It’s fine,” she reassured him. “But you don’t need to call me that, or any of the others,” she reminded him, leaning in till their noses were brushing. “There’s only one word that makes me feel like the most beautiful, loved, and cherished woman in the galaxy.”

He smiled, already knowing the answer, but wanting to hear her say it. “And what’s that?”

“Miar.”

He leaned in and kissed her again for that, his heart swelling at the reminder of just how much she appreciated that word in his language. It was always nice to hear that she favored a Daxamite word over any other that he could call her, even Kryptonian words. And to know that “miar” made her feel that way was an added bonus.

“I was thinking,” Kara spoke quietly as she pulled away first this time, resting her forehead to his as they swayed in place. “After Winn finishes testing your abilities, that we could go out?”

“I would go anywhere with you.”

She bit her lip at the smile coming out at his words. “I meant, like a date.” She looked up at him. “J’onn can’t get mad about you being around the humans if I’m with you. I AM the most powerful woman in the world here.”

He chuckled at that. “I would love to.”

Her smile faded just a little at his tone. “But?”

“I don’t know him well,” Mon-El prefaced. “But Winn seems to dislike me.”

“He doesn’t,” Kara rushed to reassure him. “I’m sure he doesn’t. He’s just a little…awkward around new people.”

Mon-El shook his head. “I think it’s more than that. And I know people,” he gave her a pointed look at that. She had once remarked to him that Daxamites were much better at reading body cues than Kryptonians, if anyone could tell Winn was uncomfortable about something, it was him. “He seems uncomfortable around us.”

Kara sighed at that, knowing Mon-El had been trying to soften the blow by making it seem like Winn was just off around HIM, but even she had noticed he seemed odd around her as well. “Yeah, he is.”

“Would J’onn be angry if I was escorted outside with Winn?”

Kara looked at him. “You want to go on a date with Winn?” she teased.

He rolled his eyes at that. “No. The only dating I’ll be doing is with you,” he promised. “I just…Earth may be different, but on Daxam, when we wanted to get to know another we would partake in drinks and conversation. I want to talk to him but I don’t want to feel like I’m cornering him.”

Kara nodded, understanding. “Trying to talk to him here wouldn’t help,” she agreed. “He has nowhere to go and no excuse to leave while he’s at work.”

“And after work?” Mon-El prodded, not sure about Earth customs.

“Guys on Earth go to bars,” Kara told him. “There’s one down the block from here that Winn’s gone to a few times. That might be the best place to talk to him.”

“Thank you,” he gave her a quick peck for that. “I do want to go on that date with you, Kara, but I know Winn is a friend to you and I don’t want him to feel uncomfortable around me, or you, if I can help it. And I won’t be able to if I don’t know what I’ve done that’s made him feel that way.”

Kara smiled at his concern for Winn. He didn’t know the man outside of her quick introduction, but he knew enough that he was a friend of hers and he wanted to make sure the man was alright. It meant a lot to her to see him reaching out and wanting to help, wanting to sort things out and talk about it instead of just storm off like James had done. 

“I think Winn will appreciate that too,” she remarked. And, if she was being honest, she wanted to know what had upset Winn too though she doubted he’d actually talk to HER about it.

Mon-El smiled at her words, reassured. He really just wanted to talk to the man and understand if he’d done something to upset him. He didn’t want to make any enemies on Earth and he could tell that Winn was important to Kara, but there was something going on that was making the man feel bad and he never wanted to do that to other people. He’d gotten enough of that from his parents, he wouldn’t want others to feel like he’d somehow made them feel negatively about themselves or a situation.

Talking, he’d learned from Kara, was always the best way to go in any situation. Try to talk things out peacefully and come to some sort of agreement. He wouldn’t be able to find out what he’d done to Winn without speaking to Winn himself. He just wanted to sort all this out before it started to upset Kara as well. As much as he didn’t want anyone to be upset or at odds with HIM, he never wanted Kara to feel poorly either.

“…we CAN still have that date later though, right?” Mon-El had to ask.

Kara laughed at that, nodding eagerly with a wide grin on her face. “Oh, there’s SO much food on Earth!” she cheered, excited now that she had a real excuse to go to the different restaurants and actually eat IN them instead of getting takeout. And the food! So many different kinds that she could introduce him to. “You’re going to love it.”

“I’m sure I will,” he agreed.

“Maybe…” Kara began, leaning in closer, pressing herself against him. “We could have a date…” she moved to kiss the side of his neck. “And dinner,” moving onto his jaw. “And head back to my loft,” and then his cheek. “And I can have my reward?”

Mon-El was already breathless when she kissed his lips, the two of them getting lost in the familiar heat that sprang up between them whenever they were together. He let out a gentle breath when he pulled back, his forehead resting on hers. “Anything you want.”

Kara giggled at that and he quickly silenced her again. He knew the five minutes of “chillaxing” were likely up and Winn might come looking for him soon, but…it was always hard to think when Kara was kissing him like she was, even harder still when she talked to him the way she had, teased him. For as strict as the Kyrptonians were, Kara truly had embraced a few Daxamite tendencies and he loved every minute of it.

And, luckily for them, Winn hadn’t stumbled upon them in their intimate embraced. It had been hard to pull themselves away from the other, but they’d managed to do it and head back to the testing rooms without much evidence of their escapade.

Winn, however, did seem to notice that something was notched up between them, which only seemed to serve to make him more uncomfortable and Mon-El more determined to see whatever was getting to Winn resolved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're getting closer to a MonWinn friendship :-) Mon-El has noticed Winn seems uncomfortable about something and he might have a fairly good guess what it is, but he would really like to talk to Winn first ;-) I also wanted to add in a little more of a Danvers Sister moment to help Alex with processing how different Kara is now :-)


	19. The Start of a Beautiful BrOtp

Kara winced as Alex flashed her with a scanner as she sat in the infirmary of the DEO after having been defeated in an alien fight ring by a massive alien named Draaga. She hadn’t expected him to be as strong as he was nor to get the win against her, and she was paying the price for that. 

“Are you sure you're ok?” Alex asked her again, seeing the wince.

“I just got my ass handed to me by a seven-foot alien gladiator,” Kara muttered. “I'm nowhere near ok.”

Alex hesitated a moment. “Do you…want me to go get Mon-El for you?” 

She wasn’t sure which answer she wanted. Kara clearly wasn’t ok with anything that had happened and if Mon-El could make her ok, make her feel better, she’d be thrilled her sister was happier again. But she knew it would also sting a little to know that someone else was the one that could reassure her now.

“No,” Kara sighed, rubbing her head. “You have no idea how much he worries about me. If he finds out about the fight, he’ll tie ME to the bed this time and…”

“Ok, don’t need to hear that,” Alex cut in with a wince of her own.

Kara gave a small chuckle. “I’ll tell him about Draaga and all this tomorrow. I just…I’m supposed to be invincible here, protected. If I tell him about Draaga now and he sees how sore I am, he’ll want to march down there and fight him himself and, without training in his powers, he could get hurt worse than I did.”

Alex nodded at that. “But you ARE going to tell him?”

“We won’t lie to each other or keep secrets,” Kara reaffirmed. “I’m just…telling him belatedly, when it won’t make him as likely to get himself killed either.”

“Sounds a little like lying,” Alex teased.

Kara rolled her eyes. “He overreacts when it comes to me,” she felt herself starting to smile. “I got a papercut once on Daxam, and he spent five minutes kissing every part of my hand.”

Alex started to smile herself. “Sounds sweet.”

“It was,” Kara agreed. “He is. He loves me and if I tell him NOW about Draaga, he’ll get himself killed. I’d rather have my mate in one piece for at least a little longer.”

“You’re lucky to be in one piece,” J’onn’s voice rang out as he entered the room to check on her. “Aliens fighting aliens for money,” he muttered. “Humans have always exploited our kind, but this is a new level.”

Alex and Kara looked at each other at his words, absolutely dreading what they were going to have to tell him about which of his new alien friends was participating in the fight ring as well.

M’gann.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Mon-El stood with his arms crossed as he watched Winn pace around the training room, the man’s eyes were glued to his data pad as they had been for most of the testing. Kara had left a short while ago to act as backup for Alex during a mission which was fine, because they’d finished most of the testing and Winn was just calculating all the data. The only time he’d seen Winn even look at him was when the tests required a visual gauge as well.

“No heat vision,” Winn began to list. “No X-ray vision. But you're strong.”

“As strong as Kara?” Mon-El asked.

Winn hesitated, but still didn’t glance up. “No. Not even close. Uh, let's see, no freeze breath, which is kind of a bummer, right? No flight either, but your leaping…well, it IS fantastic. I'm talking about like "tall buildings in a single bound" kinda stuff. Yeah, we um…” He cleared his throat. “We definitely have the makings of a superhero here.”

Mon-El nodded at that, assuming that superhero meant being what Kara was. “That is a good thing?” he just wanted to be sure.

“Yeah. It’s…you know, you go out there, you fight crime, save people, wear a costume Superhero.”

“I see,” Mon-El nodded again before he saw an opening. “Speaking of going out there, I'm, uh I'm going kind of crazy in here. I could really use some fresh air.”

Winn finally glanced up at him, shifting on his feet. “Yeah, you heard Hank. I mean, you got to stay here at the DEO.”

“Till we finish the testing,” Mon-El added in a reminder. “We’re finished now, aren’t we?”

“…I guess?”

“So how about the two of us go out and celebrate the accomplishment?” Mon-El suggested. 

Winn looked at him fully for that. “You want to celebrate with…me?” He pointed to himself like he couldn’t believe what Mon-El was saying.

He shrugged. “You did most of the hard work and put in a lot of hours. I just punched things and jumped around. Kara just watched. You deserve a break and praise for your efforts.”

Winn considered that.

“Perhaps we can talk about my superhero costume?” Mon-El tried to bait more. “Or my name. Like how she’s Supergirl.”

“Well, um, not to brag, but, uh, I actually designed Supergirl's costume,” Winn offered. “Though the name, sadly, was not on me.”

“You can think of one for me!” Mon-El suggested. Winn seemed to be very proud of the costume he made and perhaps a little bribery would be a way to start some sort of friendship between the two of them as well. He really did just want to talk to Winn about what was making him so uncomfortable, but he wouldn’t be able to do that if he and Winn couldn’t actually go somewhere and talk. 

“Wait, really?” Winn gaped at him a moment. “You'd let me do that?”

“Yeah, and make me a costume too!” This was good, this was a good start! Winn seemed open to it, open to at least talking about the supersuit. It could be an opening to talk about other things. 

“Seriously?”

“Of course,” Mon-El agreed. “Kara’s suit is awe and some. And you made that before working at the DEO?” Winn nodded. “Imagine what you could do with their resources? I may not punch as hard as she can, but I’d dress way better.”

Winn actually laughed at that.

“And you know a lot about aliens,” Mon-El continued. “I bet you would come up with a great name for me too. We could head out, grab a drink from a bar, and talk about it?”

Winn considered it. 

“I’m new here,” Mon-El tried one last tactic. “I don’t…I don’t really have many people to talk to besides Kara and you are an important friend to her. Anyone she considers a friend is someone I’d like to have as a friend too.”

It was a sneaky move and could have blown up in his face, the assumption he’d made. He figured that anyone Kara was friends with was a genuinely good person and maybe adding just a little guilt to the mix would help get Winn to agree to the drinks. He figured if he tried that tactic on Alex, it would not work very well. But it did on Winn.

“Yeah, I guess,” Winn agreed. “But just ONE drink. I have work tomorrow and the last thing I need is to be hungover barely a month into my job.”

“Awe and some!”

“Dude, seriously, it’s just awesome.”

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

To his credit, Mon-El was a very low-key person, Winn had come to learn. From what he’d read of Daxamite culture, he’d expected Mon-El to leap at the first drinking game that came up in the bar they’d gone to, but he’d merely ordered a few drinks and they’d sat down at a table at the side of the bar, away from some rowdy college students.

But, ok, so maybe Mon-El was sly and had gotten him to move onto a second drink instead of just the one he insisted on. It was, apparently, the height of insult in Daxamite culture to refuse a toast, and Mon-El had made one to new friends. HOW could he refuse THAT?!

Winn Schott was NOT a culturally insensitive person.

“Thank you for accompanying me,” Mon-El said after they downed their second drinks.

“Dude, you sound like we’re on a date,” Winn joked. “Just “thanks for hanging out” works fine.”

“Hanging out,” Mon-El tested the phrase. “Are we supposed to be hanging from somewhere?”

“No,” Winn laughed. “It just means sitting around and doing nothing really important. Spending time with friends.”

“Oh,” Mon-El nodded, before he started to smile. “Does that mean we’re friends?”

Winn seemed caught on that. “Um, yeah, yeah I guess we are. I mean, Kara is a mutual friend which makes us friends by association.”

“Kara is more than just my friend,” Mon-El corrected easily. “She’s my mate.”

“Yeah, she’s…that.” Winn looked around. “Another round?” He called to the bartender nearby, gesturing at the table for another set of drinks.

Mon-El eyed him for that. “That upsets you.”

Winn nearly spit out the drink he’d just taken a sip of, his third one, but forced it down. “What?” He scoffed. “No, psssh. No. Not at all. Of course not. Kara’s my friend and she’s your mate and that’s fine.”

Mon-El continued to stare at him. “You know,” he leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. “Daxam is a very physical planet.”

“Oh god, I don’t need to hear…”

“We’re good at reading body language,” Mon-El continued as though Winn hadn’t spoken. “We’re good at picking up social cues, hearing nuances in voices. You ARE uncomfortable with the fact that Kara is my mate.” 

Winn looked away. 

Mon-El nodded. “I apologize if it seems like I stole your potential mate away from you and…”

“What?!” Winn really did sputter through his drink at that, coughing. “What are you…NO! Kara is not…no. Potential mate? No, no, no, no, no.”

Mon-El seemed confused by that. “But Kara mentioned she had almost begun a courtship before she fell into the coma. Was that not with you?”

“Would I be alive if it were?” Winn remarked. But Mon-El seemed legitimately confused. “Dude, I would be the ex-boyfriend.” He seemed even more confused. “You are the current boyfriend…”

“Mate.”

“Mate, whatever, not the point. You’re big and muscular and you punch really hard. If I had dated Kara and you got together with her now. I’d be dead meat.”

“I’m not following. Do humans kill off former mates?”

“No, no, I just…” Winn sighed trying to work out a way to explain this to an alien. “I just thought…with Daxam what it was that, if I had dated Kara, you’d…I don’t know, deck me or something. And given how hard you punch, I’d be dead.”

“Why would I “deck” you? The relationship would have been in the past and have no bearing on the present or future.”

Winn eyed him this time, confused. “I’m thinking I’m misunderstanding Daxamite culture here.”

“We have bedmates,” Mon-El explained. “We are very free in the relationships we have for the most part. We bed who we want so long as they are consenting and wish to share their bed. Even latch-mates will bed other people. Mates don’t but…”

“There!” Winn pointed at him. “Kara is your mate. If Kara was with another man, he’d be dead, cos you’d kill him.”

“I would assume I’d failed in my duties as mate and not blame her or the man she chose to be with for it,” Mon-El seemed exceedingly confused now. “Is that not how it is on Earth?”

Winn shook his head, this conversation was feeling very off track now. “No, yes, maybe, for some people. They blame the other person and their spouse instead of themselves.”

“I see.” Mon-El paused a moment. “I wouldn’t attack you for being Kara’s former almost-mate though…but you said that wasn’t you?”

“No,” Winn sighed. “I don’t like Kara like that.”

Mon-El gave him a look. “We’re good at reading…”

“Body language, yeah, got that,” Winn muttered. “Ok, so, maybe I DID like Kara. ONCE. Like a billion years ago. But I don’t anymore. Not like that. I mean I like her, but as a friend, like a sister, not as a…a potential-mate or whatever.”

“Winn,” Mon-El sighed. “We’re good at…”

“Oh my god! Fine!” Winn huffed, realizing Mon-El was serious and actually COULD read the lie he was giving off. “Ok, so I might still like her a little. But she doesn’t like me, not like that, she made it clear and sure, it took me a while to get over that, and I would NEVER do anything now, not when she’s in a committed relationship. But it’s just…it’s weird ok. She fell asleep about to go on a date with James and then woke up married to YOU and it’s hard to keep up!”

“Who’s James?”

Winn froze at that. “Someone Kara will have to tell you about, definitely NOT me.”

Mon-El nodded at that, figuring this “James” person was the potential-mate Kara almost had. “Ok.”

Winn let out a long breath, taking a very deep swig of his beer. “I’m sorry if I was acting cold or anything to you,” he offered. He realized now that if Mon-El could tell something was bothering him, then his actions and body language were telling him that. HE had come across like that to Mon-El and he hadn’t meant to. “It’s just a little awkward to watch the two of you together.”

“Yes…” Mon-El spoke slowly. “I get the feeling Alex isn’t pleased when we are so…”

“Lovey dovey?” Winn supplied. “PDAing? Making moon eyes? Pining for each other?”

“I don’t know what any of those words mean,” Mon-El told him. “But I’m going to assume that’s what Kara and I seem like? The point is, I’m sorry if we’ve made you feel uncomfortable being so open with each other.”

“Yeah, open, that’s one word for it,” Winn remarked. “I really did NOT need to hear Kara talk about tying anyone to a bed, thank you very much.”

That moment had nearly killed him. He literally sat in his chair, sputtering and staring at Kara with wide eyes at how she’d said it so nonchalantly. He was pretty sure his brain had just shut down for a good few minutes, until he’d gotten himself back to sorts and sort of ambled out of the room while Mon-El was reading Kara’s article. It was more a shock to hear it than a true discomfort.

It was a reminder that the Kara that had woken up wasn’t completely the same Kara that had fallen asleep. Hearing his best friend, the wholesome and innocent Kara he knew, talking about something like light bondage was just a jarring experience for him. He’d needed time to process it as he knew he’d need to also get used to it, hearing Kara be so open about her feelings and desires, so unreserved in her love for Mon-El.

It was one part of why he’d been so awkward lately. It wasn’t just the newness and oddity of seeing Kara and Mon-El like that. It wasn’t that their PDA made him uncomfortable. Really a part of him was beyond happy that his best friend was THAT happy and had found a man who adored her and loved her just as much. He was thrilled Kara was happy. 

A part of him knew she could never have a relationship like she did with Mon-El with any human man. It was hard to ignore that fact when he repeatedly watched her being Supergirl and alien and superstrong and many other things. No one but another alien would be able to really handle her, no one but another alien would let her truly be all of herself. He understood that on some level. 

But seeing it happening was another thing. Seeing someone with the girl he’d had a crush on and seeing her so happy to be with that person when it wasn’t HIM was hard. He wasn’t fully comfortable with the pining Kara had done over James, had been jealous and other emotions over it, wondering what he had that HE didn’t have. But he’d pushed those thoughts down, wanting to keep being Kara’s friend and be in her life even if she was chasing after James.

Now though, to see her with an alien, it was like a constant reminder that it never ever would have happened, not for him or James. Not with any human. And it was a little hurtful to realize that every farfetched hope he’d had was never going to happen. It was a little hurtful to realize that something that was HIM, some part of him he couldn’t help or change was what kept her from being in a relationship with HIM. He was human, he’d been born human, he couldn’t help it or change it, it was just how it was. And it never would have matched with Kara being an alien.

He still had a little candle for Kara in his heart and it felt like it was just slowly being snuffed out the more he saw of her with Mon-El. He knew he had to let it die out, it was what was best for everyone, especially his friendship with Kara, but it was hard to let it go. 

He wasn’t completely uncomfortable with Kara and Mon-El’s relationship. But it was just awkward to watch them and know he still had some small feelings for Kara and to be forced to recognize it would never ever happen now. Kara was Mon-El’s mate, Mon-El was Kara’s husband, there was going to be nothing that could come between the two of them now. Especially not a human.

“It’s not your fault,” Winn finally spoke. “I’m not really uncomfortable with you and Kara being open, it’s just going to take a little while to get used to.”

“Understandable,” Mon-El remarked. “I will try not to be as…”

“Don’t,” Winn cut in quickly already knowing that Mon-El was going to offer to try and hold off on his affections for Kara around him, not wanting to make him feel more uncomfortable. 

But that was the thing. Doing it would make Kara and Mon-El unhappy, and of anyone he knew, Kara deserved to be happy and deserved to be showered in affection. He was NOT going to be the reason she had to hold back another part of herself. She hid her alien part of her as Kara Danvers, she hid her human self as Supergirl, she hid Kara Zor-El all the time, he was NOT going to make her hold this back too, not when it made her so overwhelmingly happy.

“You make her happy,” Winn added. “Happier than I’ve ever seen her. Don’t hold back on anything. And anyone that has a problem with it will just have to get over it or face the wrath of Winn Schott.”

“He is a very intimidating man,” Mon-El agreed though there was a good-natured teasing in his voice. 

“Damn right he is!” Winn announced, downing the last of his drink before smashing the glass on the floor with a cry of “Another!”

…at least until he saw the murderous look a bartender was sending him and quickly apologized, offering to pay for the glass as Mon-El laughed beside him, the two of them taking another round of drinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was tempted to add more to this chapter, but I felt like it was a really good place to end for Mon-El and Winn :-) I wanted to open a little with Kara expressing her concern and knowledge of Mon-El and sort of end with Winn showing his concern and knowledge of Kara but in a platonic way. He knows that Kara holds back a lot of herself and he sees how happy she is with Mon-El and this is his way of accepting that she's happy with Mon-El and supportive of the relationship. 
> 
> I feel like with how much love Winn has for sci-fi, he'd be the most open minded of them all when it comes to the new Karamel relationship. He wouldn't try to reject it or say it's not real or make it about himself, he'd observe how Kara smiles more and is happy, how she's changed but is still in her right mind and he would be more of the thought that "as long as she's happy, that's all that matters" :-)


	20. Early Mornings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the lack of updates :-( But enjoy a super fluffy morning-in-bed chapter for Karamel :-)

For as bad as Kara’s night had been, that was how good her morning had become at least. She couldn’t help but smile as she woke slowly with the sun, feeling warm and secure, with Mon-El’s arms wrapped around her, her sheets twisted around the two of them in a warm cocoon. She’d needed that after the night she had. She was still sore from her fight with the alien, Draaga, and she knew, had Mon-El’s night with Winn gotten too out of hand, he would have surely realized how sore she was and confronted her.

Mon-El was a flirty, affectionate, insatiable drunk. She had found that out in some of the best ways possible during a feast or two on Daxam. He didn’t grow loud or boisterous like others might, he didn’t make a fool of himself or become easily distracted by anything that moved. Instead, he seemed to gain tunnel-vision in a sense. His entire world narrowed down to HER, more so than it did in his sober state. She became a fixation, someone he wanted to make feel as good as the wine or ale had made him feel. He would touch her more freely, mumble sweet words in her ear with a hint of slur to them, he would want to cuddle with her more. As uncomfortable as she had been, at first, with public displays of affection on Daxam, seeing him in such a state endeared him to her and she found it more adorable and amusing.

He’d gotten so drunk once that he’d looked at her and forgotten they were married and tried to “woo” her again, going on and on about how whatever man she chose would be the luckiest in the universe to have her love. It had been hysterical to watch his reaction when she’d informed him HE was her husband and mate, she’d chosen HIM. The absolute awe and disbelief in his eyes made her fall in love all over again, it showed how much he cherished her love and how highly he valued her as a person.

No matter how drunk he got, however, he never overstepped his bounds in public or before other eyes. He did his best to not make her feel uncomfortable or make her feel humiliated by his efforts. Even drunk he was aware of her body language and the cues she gave off. Alone, that was another story. He became solely focused on providing her with as much pleasure as she could handle, wanting to make the night enjoyable and make her feel good. Some of her fondest memories of their nights together came from when he’d gotten too much alcohol in him, which happened so rarely as he preferred remaining sober after knowing her.

If the alcohol on Earth had affected Mon-El at all, she was sure he’d have seen her soreness when he’d try to seduce her into their bed with his touch only eliciting a pained noise instead of a happy one. Luckily for them, the alcohol on Earth didn’t affect Kryptonians or Daxamites as it were, he’d come back with a smile but sober as ever.

Winn, according to Mon-El, had not fared so well. Apparently Mon-El was lucky enough to get Winn to describe where he lived so he could help the man home in one piece before heading to the loft.

Poor Winn, he’d have a terrible hangover today.

But she was pleased Mon-El hadn’t been affected by the alcohol. He’d come back and seen her lying in bed, just resting, not having known how late his “guys’ night” would run. He’d merely readied for bed and slipped in beside her as she was already halfway to sleep, pulling her into his arms and kissing her head as she drifted off to a murmur of love and sweet dreams.

Now she felt better, more rested, FAR less sore. She hated that feeling. Well, she hated feeling sore because of some alien or criminal or fight she’d had. There was another soreness she reveled in feeling, but that hadn’t happened last night.

…perhaps that morning, though?

“Miar.”

Kara beamed as her eyes fluttered open to see Mon-El starting to stir beside her. That was always her favorite way to begin her day, seeing his sparkling grey eyes opening and looking for her first thing, or waking up to him watching her with fondness and love written all over his face. 

“Zhor,” she greeted in turn, reaching out to stroke the bridge of his nose.

He reached up and grabbed her wrist, pressing a kiss to her finger before resting her hand on his chest, over his heart. He opened his eyes and turned to look at her. “Did you get enough rest to recover?”

Kara blinked at him, a light blush starting to appear on her cheeks. “You knew?”

He gave a light chuckle. “The only time I can remember where you didn’t wait up for me, even after I told you not to.” He gave her a playfully pointed look for that. “Was when Dar organized for you to be trained a little in self-defense and you were so sore from that that you fell asleep.”

Kara let out a small huff. “Why do you have to know me so well?”

“I’m your mate, it’s sort of my job,” Mon-El jokingly replied, turning on his side to face her fully. “What happened?”

Kara sighed. “Alex’s operation discovered a fight ring made of aliens. One of them was stronger than I thought he’d be.”

“Are you ok?”

She smiled at the deep concern in his voice. “Just sore, nothing a good night’s sleep didn’t cure. The Yellow Sun really does wonders for us here.”

Mon-El looked into her eyes, searching for any hint of a lie or her trying to downplay the truth to him but seemed to find what he was looking for. 

Kara leaned in and kissed him briefly for his worry. She really should have known he’d work something out about what happened last night. It was a thing with them, even when one of them was late to bed, despite how tired the other might be, they just never seemed to fall asleep without the other there. They had to be utterly, utterly exhausted in order to manage that which was a clear indicator to the other that something was wrong. In fact, she could only remember one instance where Mon-El had fallen asleep without her on Daxam, but he’d been stabbed and near dying during that moment. 

For her, she had only ever fallen asleep on him when she was beyond exhausted and sore. Her training with some of the guards and Dar-Blaine had done that to her at the start. When she’d made such a big deal over Mon-El assigning her a bodyguard, even if it was just Dar-Blaine, she’d compromised with him after his recovery. She’d wanted to know how to defend herself as well. Mon-El wasn’t as trained as the guards were, he was the Crowned Prince, he was meant to be protected not to protect himself, but he knew some things. He knew enough to handle himself and she had seen him wielding a spear-like weapon, the typical style carried by the guards and soldiers of Daxam. He was…exquisite when he wielded one of those. He was nearly unbeatable with a spear, but one wasn’t always available. He’d been able to protect her from the attack, and it had made her realize how shielded she was on Krypton and how brutal Daxam could be. 

She wanted to be able to protect herself and at least help her guards, or Rao forbid if one of her guards ever turned on her. So she’d taken some courses with them on how to fight…and it had been a bruising experience that left her half asleep over her dinner and passed out on the bed before Mon-El could even whisper good night.

Her falling asleep so quickly last night, being in bed and already near slumbering would have told him something had happened. Especially considering how she’d told him how energized the yellow sun made them. For HER to be exhausted despite the yellow sun energy, it was telling.

Mon-El let out a breath at that. “Hopefully Winn will have the results of my tests today so we can have a clearer idea of what power I have. Then I can help you.”

Kara smiled at his drive to protect her. “That’s sweet,” she told him. “But it’ll take more than just having powers. We’ll still need to train you up more, teach you how to fight using your powers, and, you know, how to use your powers in general. And then there’s the suit and…”

“Winn said he would make me a suit,” Mon-El cut in lightly, feeling slightly let down at how much longer it would take him to be able to get out there and join Kara than he’d thought it would. “And come up with a name for me, Supergirl.”

Kara blinked. “WINN is going to name you?”

“Yes?”

Kara pouted. “I think I should name you. You are MY mate, you know.”

Mon-El chuckled lightly at that. “Did I get to name YOU?”

“You weren’t even on Earth when I was named Supergirl. I didn’t even get to name myself.”

Mon-El opened his mouth, about to say something, before his smile slowly fell and his mouth closed. “If he makes the suit, he should get to make the name that goes with it.”

Kara’s face scrunched slightly, knowing that was NOT what he was about to say. “Mon-El?”

He only had to take one look at her expression to know he’d been caught. For one brief moment he considered lying, saying that it was nothing, but he just could never do that. Keep things to himself, maybe, but not outright lie to the woman in his arms. Never to her.

“I was…I was going to say that, instead of naming me, you could name…name our child whatever you wanted,” he mumbled. “We were ready for a family on Daxam. But…on Earth…”

Kara nodded slowly, understanding what he was saying, as much as it pained her to think of. “On Earth, it might be better to wait.”

The silence that fell between them felt uncomfortably heavy. They honestly hadn’t thought about that aspect of their relationship on Daxam just yet. They HAD been ready for a family, had finally felt safe and secure enough to try for a child, to grow their family. A little girl with his eyes and her hair, his personality but her morals. A little boy with her ears and his nose, with her values and his charm. Boy or girl, more than one, whatever Rao sought to bless them with, they were READY for it.

But now, on Earth? With superpowers he was only barely aware of? With an entire culture and system so foreign to him? With no way to support his family and no…purpose? On Daxam, yes, they’d been planning a possibility to leave the planet and start a new life, but they were reasonably supported, enough to have that life and no worry. They could have gone to Krypton, been closer to a family that would undoubtedly love and cherish their child in a way his parents wouldn’t have. They had so many possibilities…which they didn’t have now. Or at least he felt like HE didn’t. 

Their planets were gone, their support was gone, and while Kara had created a means for herself on Earth and a family to go with it, he hadn’t. He needed to find his place, settle in, learn, adapt, before he could even begin to think of a family.

“One day,” Kara whispered, leaning in to kiss him. “One day we’ll have that.”

“Just not right now,” he agreed, though he could hear the heartbreak in her voice.

He supposed one good thing about Daxam being a dream was that they had spent three years there before reaching a point of having a child. He and Kara were the same ages they’d been at the start of the dream right now. Reasonably, even if it took them another three years, he knew they could do it. Maybe Daxam was not just a dream but a premonition of sorts as well, a guide.

“I can’t wait for that day though,” he continued, giving her another kiss. “I want a life with you Kara, in any way I could have it and I will help you in any way I can before I’m ready to be a hero with you.”

Kara smiled at that, shifting closer to him and cuddling to his side, resting her head on his shoulder to listen to his heart beating. “You already help me just by being with me. I feel much better than I did last night when Draaga got a hit on me.”

Mon-El stiffened in her arms. “Draaga? You fought Draaga?”

Kara tilted her head up to look at him. “Yes?”

He frowned at her. “You realize he’s one of the most dangerous aliens out there, right?”

“Well I do now.”

“I’m serious, Kara. I once saw him fight on _Warworld_.”

Kara blinked at that, familiar with Warworld. For Draaga to not only have fought there but survived that world? He really was lethal and she was probably VERY lucky to have gotten away with just a sore back.

“I’ll be careful,” she promised him. “If I end up having to face him again, I’ll be even more careful.”

“I’d rather you not fight him at all,” Mon-El remarked before sighing. “He took a blade to the right leg. It hit a nerve cluster. He's favored his left ever since.”

Kara’s expression grew soft at that, at the advice and information he was giving her. He didn’t want her to fight the man, would probably rather her locked away in the DEO and safe than to ever face the alien again. But he was giving her valuable information on his weaknesses just in case. He had faith in her, an unshakable faith, and trust that she wouldn’t just use what he told her recklessly and she wouldn’t. She had too much to live for to be careless or seek out danger when she didn’t need to.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she told him. “And inform the DEO. Whichever of us encounters him first, we’ll be prepared either way.”

“…would it be terrible to say I hope it’s Alex?” Mon-El asked, his voice taking on a teasing note. “She’s scary.”

Kara burst out laughing at that. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from my big, scary sister.”

Mon-El chuckled. “Thank you.”

Kara sighed and settled back against him once more, not quite caring about what time it was or having to get up for CatCo. Alex had ordered her to rest after last night and she didn’t doubt that the woman had gone so far as to inform James about the possibility of her not coming in to work today. She was almost hoping Alex had done it, she didn’t want to deal with James more than she had to right now.

“How did your night with Winn go?” she asked, snuggling up to him again, rubbing her nose against his cheek and chin and just inhaling his familiar, calming scent.

“Better than I thought it would.”

Kara made a snorting nose. “Is WINN really that intimidating?”

“He was when I thought he was your potential courter.”

Kara blinked, her eyes snapping open. “…it wasn’t Winn.”

“I know that now,” Mon-El reassured her, being very careful with his tone so she wouldn’t think he was still upset about her possible almost-courtship she’d mentioned once. They had both come to terms with it and agreed to leave the past in the past. “It was a man called James, according to Winn.”

Kara winced against him. “How much did he tell you?”

“Just his name.” Mon-El wiggled to look down at her. “Was there more than just a potential courtship?”

Kara frowned. “We kissed, once. And I might have…pined over him. But he was in a relationship at the time. We never even tried to begin something till after that relationship ended.”

Mon-El nodded. “At least he was honorable.”

Kara fell quiet at that, a niggling thought in her mind questioning if James really HAD been that honorable. He had been in a relationship, but there were times where she felt like he felt something for HER more than his girlfriend. She didn’t want to say he was emotionally cheating, but she couldn’t help but consider it might be possible. On Daxam, it was different. There wasn’t anything subtle about things like that. If you were happy with someone, it was clear. If you weren’t, it was obvious. If you desired someone else, you said as much. There was no lying and hidden intentions, no games, on Daxam, just honesty.

“He was good to you?” Mon-El had to ask. “He was respectful?”

“He was a good man,” Kara agreed at that at least. She wasn’t sure what she thought of James at the moment, not given how he’d reacted to her relationship with Mon-El, but he was a decent person.

“Ok.”

Kara smiled against him at that, how he was letting it go, how he was just concerned that the man hadn’t been good to her or good for her. But that he let it go because it was in the past. 

“Winn relaxed a lot more after that was out of the way,” Mon-El commented.

Kara snorted. “Are you sure it wasn’t the six plus beers you got him to drink?” She could vaguely recall him mentioning a few drinks before she’d drifted off.

“We spoke while he was sober,” Mon-El reassured her. “He doesn’t have a problem with me. He said he would just need time to get used to a girl he liked being happy with another man.”

Kara stilled in his arms. “He…said that?”

“In summary.”

Kara sighed. “He admitted he had feelings for me a while ago, but I didn’t return them, and I told him as much.”

“Yes, he made that very clear,” Mon-El remarked with a chuckle. “Kara, it’s fine. You had a life on Earth before I arrived…”

“And I had a life with you too,” Kara defended.

“And that’s fine too.” He shifted to look at her again, his expression so calm that she felt herself relax. “Winn wants you to be happy. He apologized if he came across as rude or uncomfortable, it’ll just take him time to adjust. But he knows you’re happy, and he’s very happy for you. I think he might even like me more too now.”

Kara had to nod at that. “The fact that you noticed he was uncomfortable and wanted to talk to him probably helped. He, Alex, and J’onn read up on Daxam from Kryptonian documents. It put them a little on edge about you.”

“I’m glad I could show them otherwise. I didn’t even get drunk!”

Kara laughed. “If you matched Winn drink for drink, you should have been drunk. Being alien doesn’t give you an out there.”

“I don’t want to get drunk, not anymore.” His voice grew low and soft as he looked at her. “Not since you.”

“I know.”

“I don’t think I should risk it on Earth either,” he added. “With these powers…” He looked at his hands, lifting one up. “With this strength I have, if I wasn’t sober, I could really hurt someone. I tried to stay away from the other humans in the bar last night because of that. One challenged me to a wrestling of the arms and…”

“Arm wrestling,” she corrected lightly.

“That. But I turned them down. I don’t want to hurt anyone and I don’t trust myself around the humans just yet.”

Kara let out a sigh as she felt his other arm tighten around her waist where it had moved as she snuggled into him. SHE could feel his strength, she reveled in it, adored it, it was a comforting pressure against her. But if Mon-El applied the same to a human, he’d hurt them. It meant the world to her to see him being so responsible. She really had rubbed off on him and to see the effect she’d had on him, compared to the stories of his people, it made her feel warm inside.

“I understand how you feel,” Kara murmured. “I was so scared of even touching the Danvers when I first came to Earth, let alone trying to hug them? One time, for my junior prom, this boy, Scott Klein asked me to dance. I stepped on his foot and I broke three of his toes. It's just gonna take some time to get used to having these abilities and living in the world.”

Mon-El smiled against her. “Good thing I have an excellent teacher.”

“Well,” she giggled a little. “I’m a reporter, a superhero, and now a teacher. I should start charging a fee for all the work I do.”

“Hmmm,” he hummed in her ear. “And what will be the cost for you to teach me about Earth?”

Kara playfully considered it before rolling over to face him. “One kiss for each lesson.”

Mon-El grinned. “I think I can afford that.”

He leaned up to press his lips to hers, trying his best not to smile into the kiss and ruin it. He couldn’t help thinking back to how he’d taught her how to live and adapt to Daxam and now the tables had turned and it was HER turn to teach HIM.

He couldn’t wait for the lessons to really begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like, with Mon-El being more responsible due to knowing Kara so long, he wouldn't have had to be rushed out of the bar by Winn, which means the conversation in the DEO wouldn't really happen the same way. And with Kara wanting to spend more time with Mon-El and with him living with her, she wouldn't have been in the DEO for that scene either, which means Alex likely convinced J'onn to speak to M'gann.
> 
> But I still wanted to have Kara and Mon-El's conversations and it just fit that they'd have it like this :-)


End file.
